CORDOVA, Tenn. – What do a major champion, a star-struck college freshman and a former PGA TOUR winner on the comeback trail have in common? All three are headed to the U.S. Open after competing at Monday’s sectional qualifying near Memphis.

U.S. Open qualifying – held Monday at 10 sites across the United States -- has the casual atmosphere of spring training, but the stakes are so much higher. A spot in the United States’ national championship is the prize that inspires players to sweat it out in sectional qualifying, both literally and figuratively. Qualifying is a test of skill and strength, as players walk two rounds in one day in the June heat for their chance at making the year’s second major championship.

Thirteen players played their way to Pinehurst No. 2 through the qualifier at Colonial Country Club in Cordova, Tennessee, some 12 miles from TPC Southwind, the site of this week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Former PGA Championship winner David Toms was among the baker’s dozen, as was Robby Shelton, who capped his first season at Alabama by helping the team win last week’s NCAA Championship. He recently won the Phil Mickelson Award as the nation’s top freshman, but admitted being in the presence of PGA TOUR players still brings butterflies.

Former U.S. Amateur and PGA TOUR winner David Gossett also qualified. Gossett, 35, hasn’t held TOUR status in a decade, but was hoping his U.S. Open berth could help him earn his way back to the PGA TOUR. J.B. Holmes qualified, too, just weeks removed from his win at the Wells Fargo Championship.

The successful ones at sectional qualifying earn the right to participate in the game’s toughest test. Joe Ogilvie, whose lone PGA TOUR victory came at the 2007 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, said after qualifying, “It feels good, and then you realize you’re going to go get kicked in the (pants) for four days.”

Sectional qualifying participants range from up-and-coming amateurs to longtime club pros who primarily make their living behind a pro-shop counter, not by playing the game. Shorts aren’t just permissible; they’re preferred. Caddies carry the stand bags commonly found at your local club, not the unwieldy staff bags with maximum carrying capacity.

Gallery ropes are gone, as are the grandstands. There are no restricted areas, except the roped-off scoring area beneath a small tent. A qualifier has the quaint feel of a club championship. There are no television cameras or electronic scoreboards. A handwritten scoreboard hung on the side of the pro shop’s brick wall instead.

Members, some with beer in hand, gathered behind the 18th green to watch players finish their rounds. Others could be seen hitting balls as former TOUR winners walked the fairways behind them. A teenaged boy practiced his putting as players he’d seen on television walked by.

“I love the process, that anyone can come from anywhere and get through locals and get through sectionals and play in the U.S. Open,” said Scott Langley, who’s qualified for three U.S. Opens. He was low amateur (T-16) alongside Russell Henley in 2010 at Pebble Beach. “That’s awesome. That truly reflects American golf. You have the great stories every year of the guys coming from nowhere.”

Langley competed in the sectional qualifier one day after playing alongside Bubba Watson in the final group of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance. Admittedly overwhelmed by the atmosphere, Langley shot 79 on Sunday. He took a private flight from Ohio to Tennessee, arriving at approximately 8:30 p.m. He was first alternate Monday after failing to earn one of the qualifier’s final two spots in a playoff.

Gossett was one of the original “young guns” in Tiger Woods’ wake. He won the 1999 U.S. Amateur, then claimed the John Deere Classic less than two years later, at age 22. He’s now 35, married and the father of three children. He last held full PGA TOUR status in 2004 after his quest to improve went awry.

“I got my wires crossed,” Gossett said.

He has seen progress since he started working with Chuck Cook approximately five years ago, but said there’s still “mental scar tissue” to work through. Playing the Tennessee qualifier allowed him to stay with his parents and sleep in his childhood bed. He played 11 Web.com Tour events last year, making just three cuts and earning approximately $10,000. His Deere win means he’s still a PGA TOUR member, but he estimated he was 54th alternate for this week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic.

“I’m still chasing the dream to get back on the PGA TOUR,” he said. “I have to earn my way back.”

Maggert has earned more than $19 million in his PGA TOUR career, and yet there he was playing 36 holes Monday alongside two players with a combined earnings of $0, amateurs Trey Mullinax, a recent Alabama grad, and Austin Rose, who graduated high school this year. They’re combined age didn’t come close to Maggert’s 50 years. He won earlier this year on the Champions Tour and now is headed to his 16th U.S. Open after shooting 63-72. This is his first U.S. Open appearance since the last time the tournament was held at Pinehurst No. 2, in 2005. He finished 78th that year.

“It’s a tough grind at my age, but it’s kind of fun, actually,” Maggert said of qualifying. He has seven top-10s at the U.S. Open.

His experience at qualifying showed as he waited for the ninth fairway to clear in Monday’s afternoon round. Even though he had the honor, he waited in the shade of a tree some 30 yards from the tee while his playing partners stayed in the sun. Maggert walked along the shade of the tree line on many holes to lessen the impact of the Tennessee heat.

It’s a long day, yes, but worthwhile, especially for the successful ones.

“If it got old, I wouldn’t be here, grinding it out for 10 hours today,” Toms said.