PENN TWP — Rob McClellan returned to Butler Country Club to see if his plus-1 70 was good enough to advance him from Wednesday's U.S. Open local qualifier.

He didn't know he'd have to take a few more swings to give himself a chance.

The Butler resident finished his round shortly before 6 p.m. With a number of threesomes far from finishing, he decided to go home, just minutes from the course.

Meanwhile, Louis Olsakovsky, who entered the back 9 tied with McClellan at plus-1, managed par on every hole on the back end. He finished his round shortly after 8 p.m. and with darkness looming.

The two golfers were tied for the fourth and final qualifying spot to enter a sectional tournament later this month. From there, golfers can reach the U.S. Open, scheduled June 17-20 at Torrey Pines in California.

McClellan, a former pro at BCC and current director of golf at Slippery Rock Golf Club, figured the sudden death playoff would take place Thursday.

But Olsakovsky, a student at Penn State University, wanted to continue to play.

“I normally wouldn't want to do it this way, but I have a final exam tomorrow morning,” Olsakovsky said.

McClellan, who was on the practice green, agreed and soon jogged across the road to the driving range.

“I wanted to get a couple of swings in,” he said. “It had been a while since I finished my round and my back was sore, but I didn't want him to miss taking a final.”

Both golfers were soon on the first tee, set to decide matters.

Only nothing was decided. Both parred the hole, forcing them to return to the course Thursday. They will tee off on No. 9 at 8 a.m.

“It was too dark to go to the next hole,” said McClellan. “It's tough to get accurate depth perception when it's getting dark. My second shot (in the playoff) was heavy, my club hit a couple of inches behind the ball.”

And about that final exam?

“I'll have to email my professor, see if I can get it moved back,” said Olsakovsky. “She doesn't even know who I am.”

The golfer who loses out in the playoff will be first alternate.

The three golfers already guaranteed a spot at sectionals include Jimmy Ellis, who was the lone golfer to finish below par at minus-3. Jason Li and Ben Huber, a Hampton Township resident, both finished at even par.

McClellan was pretty accurate with his belief entering Wednesday's round.

“I was hoping to shoot even par. I figured that would be good enough to get through,” he said.

“It was tough out here ... cold, windy, wet. I didn't think many guys would be able to come in here and shoot below par.”

And the one man who did, Ellis, had to scratch and claw his way there. He bogeyed two of the first three holes.

“My caddy and I were talking, said something's gotta change or we might as well go home,” said Ellis. “I birdied No. 5 and that's where everything changed.

“I bogeyed No. 7, but that was 460 yards into the wind.”

Ellis avoided the bogeys in the final 11 holes and tallied five birdies.

“My drives were all over the place today, but my putter and irons were great,” he said. “When you're not playing well, you can't just get confidence out of nowhere. You have to start hitting good shots.”

Huber, 23, estimates that he's played BCC's course 15 times. He was minus-3 with two holes left before taking a bogey and double-bogey.

“Everybody gets good breaks and bad breaks,” he said. “I go with the flow, try to string as many good shots together as I can.”