Golf’s Longest Day this year saw 713 hopefuls not already exempt tee up to try to qualify for the U.S. Open. On Monday, players at 10 sites across North America played 36 holes apiece to fight for the final places in the championship field at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. For six of the hopefuls, however, the longest day became the shortest due to a medical emergency preventing them from reaching BallenIsles Country Club on time.

As per an update from Golf Channel, a group of seven golfers left Mexico City after playing on the PGA Tour Americas Mexico Championship. They were to land in Miami at midnight, but after a medical emergency mid-flight, the plane was rerouted to Veracruz. There, the players had to wait before traveling to Miami on another flight at around 2 AM (CT). They eventually landed at 6:45 AM (ET), nearly seven hours after the scheduled arrival time.

By the time the players reached BallenIsles Country Club, all but one of them made it for their tee time. Luck was on Chris Nido’s side as he was among the last to tee off for the day. As Nido had left his clubs in Mexico, he borrowed alternate ones from a friend. However, he withdrew after the first round and missed the cut.

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This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

On Which Hole Jordan Spieth’s Ball Got Stuck Under a Trashcan?

14th 15th16th 17th

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

PLAY GOLF TRIVIA

One of the names who missed qualification would have had fond memories of the last time the U.S. Open was hosted at Shinnecock Hills. Luis Gagne’s late arrival caused him to miss his 8:10 am tee time and lose out on the opportunity to return to the course and compete at the very event where he was the co-low amateur in 2018.

Overall, there were 43 spots available across the 10 venues on Monday. Four of these were up for grabs at BallenIsles. Amateur Giuseppe Puebla and Ben Silverman finished T1, taking the first two cards. Amateurs Ryder Cowan and Miles Russell, for whom Charlie Woods caddied, were tied for 3rd, taking the remaining spots. Tyler Collet and Christiaan Bezuidenhout are first and second alternates, respectively.

But missing out on qualifiers due to travel chaos isn’t exactly an isolated incident. Back in 2023, PGA Tour pro-turned-PGA Tour LIVE announcer, Andres Gonzales, who was part of the streaming coverage of that year’s Memorial Tournament, missed his Monday tee time at the U.S. Open qualifier. His flight out of Chicago got cancelled, leaving him no chance to arrive at Tacoma Country & Golf Club in time.

Out of all the 10 qualification events, the one at Emerald Valley continued on Tuesday.

Golf’s longest day needed an extra day at Emerald Valley

There were two spots available at Emerald Valley, with Greyson Leach taking the first to play in the first major of his career. But Spencer Tibbits and Andrew Putnam were tied for second, which means they had to head for a playoff for the second available spot.

They played six more holes, each carding five pars and a bogey, until dusk closed in and play became impossible. Both of them played 42 holes that day before the playoff was rescheduled for early Tuesday.

Upon resumption, they played three more holes before Putnam clinched the second spot. He will now play his second major this year after finishing T55 at the PGA Championship. Meanwhile, the playoff heartbreak will see Tibbits’ major appearance drought extend. His last appearance at a major was in the 2019 U.S. Open.

Meanwhile, at Lambton Golf & Country Club, 61 players were playing for 6 spots, including former Ryder Cupper Thorbjorn Olesen. Midway through his opening round (he was +3 through 14), however, Olesen pulled out instead of finishing his two scheduled rounds.

By the time he walked off, the clubhouse lead at the qualifier was already sitting at five under. Olesen, who has missed the cut in all four of his appearances at the U.S. Open, likely did so to better prepare for the upcoming RBC Canadian Open.

Eventually, Emiliano Grillo (1st), Alejandro Tosti (2nd), Marcelo Rozo (3rd), William Mouw, John Parry, and Max McGreevy, who all tied for fourth, took the six spots from the qualifying site. Matt Wallace and Adam Svensson are first and second alternates, respectively.