Dentist and former caddy will tee it up in US Open 

The Dentists at Gateway Crossing, an office in McCordsville, Indiana, is going to be short-staffed for a bit. Their founder, and now star practitioner Dr. Matt Vogt, will be busy playing golf in the U.S. Open Championship. 

How did a dentist make the field of 156 players? 

The 34-year-old Vogt will tee it up in the first round on Thursday, June 12, at Oakmont Country Club, in a modern-day golf fairytale. Vogt took time away from his practice recently to go through local and regional qualifying as one of 10,202 applicants, a record for the USGA. After a pair of 68’s on the scorecard Monday, June 2, he made the field for what’s known as the “toughest test in golf.”

“Yeah, it’s been crazy,” Vogt said of the whirlwind week. “You qualify and then you gotta get going, the U.S. Open is next week. We flew out to Walla Walla, Washington for the qualifier, kinda took a flyer on that being a great course fit for my game. It paid off.”

How well does he know the course at Oakmont?

Vogt said he slept about two hours that Monday night, pumped with adrenaline while his phone pinged non-stop with congratulations. He arrived the week of the tournament at a course he knows very well. The Pittsburgh native was a caddy for five years at Oakmont and will stay at his mom’s house in Cranberry, Pennsylvania, about 20 minutes away. Vogt was asked what he’ll take to the tournament from his days walking the course, carrying the bag for members.   

“So, we got to play Monday nights,” Vogt said. “And honestly, we did not appreciate that as much as we should have. I mean, thinking about it now, we should have been here every single Monday, but I’d be lying if I said we were.”  

Vogt described himself as a pretty good amateur player but never had the “it factor” to pursue a professional career. He played for a bit in college on the Butler University team, but gave it up to pursue a biology degree and dentist school. He started playing competitively again in 2018, prompted by his love for the game. Now he’ll compete against the best in the world.

“I played around a lot of guys who you could tell had it and had a chance to make a shot at professional golf,” Vogt said. “It never really crossed my mind, but trying to pursue amateur golf, trying to compete at whatever level that is and get to whatever level I can get to, it’s almost like a challenge to myself, like what can we do?”

How has Vogt handled the spotlight?

Now he laughs when asked about signing autographs for the first time. He recently appeared on ESPN’s “Pat McAfee Show” because one of the producers is a patient. He said the ultra-bright spotlight he’s under will only help when he returns to his practice.  

“Some patients reaching out, fellow dentists,” Vogt said. “I feel like there’s so many people behind me this week. Oakmont, Pittsburgh, dentistry. It’s been fun. Honestly from a business perspective that’s not what it’s about. We try to take good care of people, if it brings us more great patients we can help, awesome. It’ll give us something to talk about around the office.”  

What would it mean to play on Father’s Day?

In another twist to Vogt’s journey, the U.S. Open is traditionally played over Father’s Day weekend. He lost his dad to colon cancer just two months ago. Whether or not he makes the cut to play over the weekend, he said he will lean on his faith to get through it.

“It’s a unique time in my life where, yes my father passed, and I miss him dearly, but I have a beautiful 15 month old daughter and a wife who supports me in pursuing this  and I thank god every day for them,” Vogt said. “I think this weekend is going to be full of gratitude and hopefully some good golf too”  

Dr. Vogt is one of 15 amateurs in the field this week. He’ll be in the first group out at 6:45 a.m. Eastern Time, Thursday, June 12. In 16 of the last 17 years, at least one amateur has made the cut at the U.S. Open and played on the weekend.