Pro takes wild route from Pebble to Monday qualify into Travelers Championship

When you’re on a heater, best to keep betting, right? That has to be what Chip McDaniel was thinking this week.

McDaniel will play in the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands beginning Thursday, but only after advancing through a Monday qualifier. Sounds simple enough. Nope, it never is. According to Brian Wacker of Golf Digest, McDaniel’s route to nabbing a qualifier spot was as strenuous as they get.

McDaniel played in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach last weekend after he got in via sectional qualifying, and he made the cut but struggled on the weekend with a 76-77 finish. He finished 78th and made $21,224.

From Pebble, he grabbed a ride to the San Francisco airport more than two hours away. He’d take a redeye flight to Boston, meet up with an old teammate and then ride to the qualifier. If that wasn’t enough, he’d need to advance through a playoff, with nine players chasing three spots. McDaniel went birdie-par-par to ensure his spot in the Travelers field.

“I slept pretty much the entire five-hour flight but, man, I was still loopy when I got there,” McDaniel told Wacker. Whatever works! McDaniel’s next meaningful round on this cross-country golf fest comes Thursday in Connecticut. Check out the full report from Golf Digest here.