Seventy-five golfers competed for four spots in the U.S. Open at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland, on Monday. But one player stood out, thanks to his fan club.
Nick Barrett, a 33-year-old amateur from Catonsville, Maryland, has been a UPS driver for eight years while chasing his golf dream.
Besides a number of his family members, several of Barrett’s buddies and fellow members at Turf Valley Golf Club in Ellicott City, Maryland, were out in force at Woodmont, clad in brown UPS shirts.
“That’s very special when I saw those guys show up and those brown shirts,” Barrett told WTOP. “Somebody had mentioned to me that they were gonna do that. I thought it was somewhat of a joke. I’m like, no way, but somebody went online, I don’t know where they got them, but they bought those shirts, and they showed up in those UPS shirts.”
“It’s pretty hilarious they’re all wearing UPS shirts today in support,” Julia Barrett, Nick’s wife, said while walking the course with the couple’s 6-month-old son. “It’s really fun. I think it keeps it light-hearted for him.”
“Nick’s a great kid,” Michael Tydings, one of Barrett’s friends, said. “Watched him do well every place he goes. He’s even a better human, better dad. We wanted to support him, show our support to the crowd. So we had an idea to go brown.”
The U.S. Open qualifying is called “Golf’s Longest Day,” with 75 golfers playing 36 holes each at Woodmont’s North Course, one of eight locations around the U.S. and Canada to host qualifiers. The U.S. Open will be played at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, New York, on June 18.
At last year’s U.S. Open Qualifying at Woodmont, Barrett’s dream was dashed when, after shooting a 68 in the first round, he didn’t sign his scorecard in the allotted time and was disqualified.
“I don’t want to say it haunted me, but it definitely left a mark,” Barrett said.
On Monday, Barrett made it to the final stages of qualifying again but got off to a shaky start. His drive on the first hole of the day went way left, which led to a double bogey. He ended up shooting an 80.
“Never really got comfortable, especially in that first round,” Barrett said.
A 75 in his second round left him way off the pace. Barrett finished a combined 13 over for the day, 18 shots off the cut line.
Barrett couldn’t deliver the fairy-tale ending he and his army of brown-clad supporters so badly wanted for him.
“I wasn’t necessarily choked up in the moment, but looking back on it now, it’s like, wow, man, like these guys care so much, and that means everything,” he said.
And Tuesday morning, Barrett was back on his UPS route, delivering packages.
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