Plenty of heartbreak highlighted the final day of U.S. Open qualifying on Monday. But you could argue the competitor smarting the most is a UPS driver from Maryland. His U.S. Open dreams were dashed when he committed a rare and painful scorecard error.
The qualifier, Nick Barrett, was disqualified when he forgot to hand in his scorecard following the first round of his qualifier, which he described to the Baltimore Sun’s Edward Lee as “a total gut punch.”
Here’s what you need to know.
UPS driver DQ’d from U.S. Open qualifier
Barrett, a 31-year-old from Catonsville, Md., played his final qualifying at Woodmont Country Club’s North Course in Rockville, Md. It was one of 10 different final qualifying events on Monday, all of which featured 36 holes.
At the Woodmont qualifier, Barrett was one of 84 golfers fighting to claim four spots in next week’s 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont.
Barrett still had a chance after his first round, shooting a two-over 73 over his first 18 holes. However, that score would never become official.
Following his round, Barrett went to have a quick lunch, when he experienced a shock. In his pocket was his scorecard from the first round. He was supposed to have signed it and handed it in at the scorer’s tent immediately after his round.
“I stood up after I had a hot dog or something at lunch, and I felt my back pocket, and I felt the scorecard in there,” Barrett told the Baltimore Sun, “And as soon as I did that, my heart went straight to the bottom of my stomach.”
Barrett then went to the scorer’s tent, but it was too late. In the 20 minutes that had elapsed, his playing partners had already signed their scorecards and the next group had come through.
The USGA officials present had no choice but to disqualify Barrett, officially ending his hopes to play in the U.S. Open.
He told the Sun that it was “just a real shame that I couldn’t go back out there,” and though he couldn’t blame anyone but himself, it was “a total gut punch.”
Check out Lee’s full story in the Baltimore Sun here to read more of Barrett’s quotes.
2 PGA Tour stars suffer heartbreak at U.S. Open qualifiers
While Barrett was a fairytale long-shot in U.S. Open qualifying, several big PGA Tour stars also experienced heartbreak.
At the qualifier played at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club in Ohio, Max Homa and Rickie Fowler both lost a five-man playoff to miss out on the final of six U.S. Open spots up for grabs.
Homa’s finish was particularly painful.
The six-time PGA Tour winner, who carried his own bag on Monday after a split with his caddie, three-putted his final hole to fall into the playoff. Had he made his short second putt, he would have been guaranteed a spot in next week’s U.S. Open.
