COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After three years of coming up short in qualifying, Justin Leonard earned a return to the U.S. Open. The 1997 British Open champion, who has won 12 times on the PGA Tour but not since 2008, was among the 16 players at the Columbus site who qualified for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst June 12-15. "Itll be fun," said Leonard, wholl turn 42 on the day of the Opens final round. "And Pinehurst is one of my favourites, so a little extra incentive there." Leonard was co-medallist through 36 holes on Monday at Brookside and Scioto. He tied for 15th at the Open in Pinehurst in 1999 when Payne Stewart won and tied for 23rd in the 2005 championship won by Michael Campbell. Among those also qualifying were Bo Van Pelt, Mark Wilson, Kevin Tway and Luke Guthrie, South Koreas Seung-Yul Noh and Hyung Sung Kim, Australias Aaron Baddeley and Rod Pampling and Englands Paul Casey. Playing 18 holes on each of two difficult courses after playing four rounds nearby at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, Baddeley said its a grueling way to spend what is usually a day off. "To come out and play good is a bonus," he said after tying for 37th at the Memorial on Sunday. "I played really nice last week. I made like a million birdies. I just made way too many bogeys." The Columbus site featured the most PGA Tour players. Another big tour site was in Memphis, Tennessee, where David Toms, J.B. Holmes, Joe Ogilvie and David Gossett were among the 13 to earn spots. Gossett, a former PGA Tour winner, was an alternate out of 18-hole local qualifying. Now that Mondays qualifying is over, 150 players are in the U.S. Open. Six spots remaining will be for anyone who gets into the top 60 in the world ranking after this week, and the rest will be distributed to alternates. The order of alternates was not released. A year ago in Columbus, Justin Thomas came down the stretch with a shot at qualifying only to finish bogey-bogey at Brookside and miss making the field by a shot. This year, he hit his second shot to the closing hole to almost exactly the same spot but was able to make a par. He finished at 5-under and shared medallist honours with Leonard and Noh. "Its cool to finish in the same spot and do that. I played so well last year and those last two holes were the difference," he said. "Thisll be my first major and Im looking forward to a great experience." There were also those who kicked away quality chances to make the Open field. Danny Lee, who won the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst in 2008, was at 7-under on the day when he triple-bogeyed the 13th and then doubled the 14th at Scioto. Michael Putnam was among the leaders until he played his final six holes in five over and had to go to a 5-man playoff for the final three spots. He then lost out on the second hole and will be an alternate. -- In San Francisco, Jason Gore failed to earn one of five spots. Gore played in the final group in 2005 and was referred to as the "Prince of Pinehurst." One of the spots went to Kevin Sutherland, a former World Golf Championship winner. Sutherland recently received an exemption to the U.S. Senior Open this summer after turning 50. He last played a PGA Tour event in August. -- In Houston, former U.S. Junior Amateur champion Cory Whitsett went 66-66 and was medallist by five shots to lead three qualifiers at Lakeside Country Club. Whitsett, an All-American at Alabama, was on the winning Walker Cup team last year. -- NCAA champion Cameron Wilson of Stanford missed by one shot qualifying for the U.S. Open in Purchase, New York. -- Henrik Norlander of Sweden earned one of two spots in Roswell, Georgia. -- Billy Hurley III, a former Navy officer, earned one of four spots at Rockville, Maryland. Taylor Funk, the 18-year-old son of Fred Funk, shot 76 in his second round at Woodmont and missed by three shots. -- Aron Price of Australia got the fourth and final spot from Vero Beach, Florida, without facing a playoff. His 142 tied him with Landon Michelson of Rice, who had rounds of 71-71 at Quail Valley. Michelson, however, realized he signed for a 70. He put down a Instead of a playoff against Price for the last spot, Michelson was disqualified. -- At Springfield, Ohio, Brian Stuard won one of three spots by going 64-65. Chris Thompson and amateur Will Grimmer also qualified. -- In Creswell, Oregon, where 50 players battled for two spots, Zac Blair and Clayton Rask earned trips to Pinehurst. Custom Detroit Lions Jerseys .com) - Maria Sharapova reached her 10th career grand slam final after beating Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets at the Australian Open on Thursday. Custom Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys . Old times for a defence that has looked just plain old recently? "No," safety Ryan Clark said. "We used to be much better than that. http://www.footballcustomjerseys.com/custom-kansas-city-chiefs-jerseys-458c.html . -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers. Custom Atlanta Falcons Jerseys .J. Ellis have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year contract. Custom New York Jets Jerseys . Calgarys Bo Levi Mitchell and Montreals Troy Smith will be the starting quarterbacks in a CFL season-opener for the first time in their careers. Both want to reinforce their No. 1 status. You can watch the game live in the first half of a doubleheader on TSN and TSN GO at 3:00pm et/Noon pt.Day 23 in 100 words or less It was a day for central defenders and set-piece goals. Time to go through the motions and squeeze out a victory had passed. It was a day for the serious World Cup contenders to step up and show us what they had. Brazil and Germany, with eight World Cups between them, did just that and now meet each other in Tuesdays semifinal. Germany 1-0 France Twenty years ago next week Germany were almost there. Just after 1:30pm in the afternoon, inside the blistering heat of Giants Stadium, New Jersey, the Germans led 1-0 in a World Cup quarterfinal against Bulgaria with 15 minutes left in the match. The reigning World Champions were about to become the first ever country to reach four straight World Cup semifinals. Bulgaria suddenly scored two goals in three minutes and in a New York minute the Germans were going home. The football world was stunned. No one since has made the final four of the World Cup four times in a row. Until today. Fittingly, it was Germany again, playing on another hot afternoon, and up a goal on their opponents. This time, though, there was no meltdown in the heat. Joachim Lows team havent been near their best in Brazil since a blistering opening 30 minutes against Portugal but this was their best showing since that showing in Salvador 18 days ago. It was a statement of intent from Lows side. A statement that they can win games in such a manner. "You are not only the best side in the world, you are the best side I have ever seen." That is what Low said to Xavi after Spain had defeated his German team in the semifinal four years ago. Spain won 1-0 that day, through a headed goal, scored by a centre-back from a set-piece. Low, then, will surely have been thinking about that when his team beat France the same way. Goalscorer Mats Hummels had a wonderful match. He would have been man of the match even if Germanys goal had been scored by someone else. Behind him, Manuel Neuer, earning his 50th cap, was also impressive again, making two outstanding saves, with one denying Karim Benzema in the final moments. Philipp Lahm at right back wasnt anywhere near his best but his positioning made sense for the collective balance of the side. Thats because it allowed Sami Khedira to come into midfield and he made a big difference. The Real Madrid man is clearly still not at his peak after a long layoff through injury but his penetrating runs into space makes Germany more flexible in attack and, subsequently, harder to defend against. With Thomas Muller still a menace in attack, either on the right or central, all of this means Low is building a side with a strong spine. You do not need to have 11 players all at the top of their game to win a World Cup. This is good news for Mesut Ozil and whoever plays alongside him and Muller. Ozil is clearly struggling inside this system but with other players excelling it is not as vital. Lows mind will be full of exceptional memories of Ozil performing brilliantly at the last two major tournaments. He remains good at spatial awareness and in possession when given outlets close by. However, he is far from at his best and his reputation as a player who needs a lot of love shows he is incredibly low on confidence. He is, however, like all of his teammates, just two wins away from being a world champion. France go home with their heads held high and will be a force on home soil at Euro 2016. The Champions League has been a wonderful stage for many to show they can compete at a high level, while Ligue 1 continues to produce some sensational young players not even seen in Brazil. For those who were in Brazil, this tournament, unlike the past two, will have provided them a lot of good lessons in cohesion both on and off the field. Didier Deschamps deserves a lot of credit for turning Les Bleus into a team their nation loves once again, just nine months after many couldnt stand them anymore. Brazil 2-1 Colombia Where do we start? Here is what we DO know: Brazil scored two goals via set pieces and now have only scored two goals from open play in four games against Croatia, Mexico, Chile and Colombia at this World Cup. Games against Cameroon should not count when evaluating their attack. The ggame was very physical.dddddddddddd The ref was very average. If you followed the match on Twitter there is a good chance that you think Brazil were very, very fortunate. Colombia, however, did very little in the match until going down 2-0. Brazils intensity early in the match was unlike anything we have seen from the hosts so far and, James Rodriguez aside, Jose Pekermans team look like a side that is only good enough to reach the last eight. Thiago Silva was absolutely magnificent in defence. His suspension for the game against Germany is enormous. James Rodriguez got even better, despite the loss. He was a marked man and on a completely different level than his teammates yet he was still sensational, finding space and creating goal-scoring opportunities. He deserved his sixth goal of the World Cup. We bid farewell to Colombia. They played a wonderful part in making this a special World Cup and gave us the true star of this tournament. However, on this night, the rest of the team was shown to be what they are. Juan Cuadrado is very good and had a great tournament but the rest were just good. Good enough to take Colombia to the last eight for the first time. It appears as this column goes to press that Neymar is out of the World Cup. Here is what we do NOT know: How good are Brazil? This is the biggest question going forward. Despite getting by two good sides they look very average relying on Neymars pace and creativity in the final third. Without Neymar, they have no real plan B in attack. Even when they are scoring, he is the one creating them. Neymars speed again made a massive difference. You will remember David Luizs goal against Chile but moments earlier it was Neymar whose run got Brazil into that territory. They will miss many things without Neymar but his pace on counters is one the biggest things. Here is a shot of how Brazil lined up in that game. You will see the ball is on the right as #7 Hulk defends his flank. Already Neymar is anticipating a quick counter, wanting to go to the left…. Once that counter happens he is away to press…. Then he wins the ball and is behind the defender…. Here is the build up to the corner won by Brazil that led to their opening goal. Colombia in possession with Neymar lurking and Cristian Zapata deep to deal with his speed….. Brazil win it back and transition with Neymar immediately heading into that zone once again… Neymar is now in possession and Zapata is losing the race despite the head start… Zapata must force it into a corner – out of nothing and all because of the quick counter made by Neymar… Neymar has carried this team on his back so far and now that back can not carry the nation any more. Man of the day Nominees David Luiz – a sensational free kick gave Brazil the moment of the World Cup so far. Thiago Silva – opened the scoring with a key early goal and was magnificent in defence throughout. James Rodriguez – His name is James. James Rodriguez. No one should ever mispronounce his name ever again. A global star was born in Brazil. Manuel Neuer – the German goalkeeper was, once again, commanding in goal on the big occasion. Got his 50th cap against France and another 50 will be on their way. Mats Hummels – Germany needed a defensive hero very badly and the Borussia Dortmund man returned from the flu to win the game for Joachim Lows side. The winner… David Luiz – He may not have been the best player on the field but it was very special for a Brazilian to score a 35 yard free kick with the SIDE of his foot in such a monumental match. What comes next? Argentina vs Belgium (12pm/9am) and Netherlands vs Costa Rica (4pm/1pm) Burning question for tomorrow Argentina have gone through this World Cup with one great player and ten average ones. Can one player step up from average to good to help Lionel Messi and dispose of Belgium? Key stat of day 23 Mats Hummels scored the 30th headed goal at the World Cup. 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