A UPS driver aiming to bring a blue-collar presence to the greens of the U.S. Open golf tournament is out of contention after what he calls a “gut punch” mistake.
Nick Barrett, a 31-year-old from Catonsville, Maryland, cruised through the qualifying course at the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland, on Monday.
It was the first round of what was supposed to be a 36-hole day, according to The Baltimore Sun. But there weren’t going to be any more holes at all.
His playing partners went to the scorer’s tent to sign their cards, according to the Sun. Barrett never showed up.
His partners waited, then signed their cards and left. When the group of golfers playing behind Barrett showed up to sign their cards, according to the Sun, “officials had no choice but to disqualify Barrett.” When he finally did appear, about 20 minutes after his round had ended, it was too late.
Barrett sounds like he knew what was coming.
“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, and as soon as I did that, my heart went straight to the bottom of my stomach,” he told the Sun.
How well he started wouldn’t enter into it.
Nick Barrett of Catonsville, Md. tees off No. 1
Scoring: https://t.co/btIC6tQ0si pic.twitter.com/LYbknRfeVa
— MD State Golf Assoc (@msgagolf) June 2, 2025
The mistake put an end to Barrett’s dreams of making it to the 125th U.S. Open, scheduled for June 12-15 at the Oakmont Country Club in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
And while Barrett is understandably upset by the development, he told the Sun it’s his own fault.
“It’s kind of hard to express, but just disappointment in myself because at the end of the day, it is my responsibility as a player,” he said. “I can’t blame anybody but me. It’s just a total gut punch.”
A procedural error led to Nick Barrett’s disqualification at a U.S. Open qualifier. “It’s just a total gut punch,” the UPS driver said. https://t.co/DQaGGXFo9a
— Baltimore Sun Sports (@BaltSunSports) June 2, 2025
It wasn’t just disappointing for Barrett, of course. He also had a friends-and-family gallery of about 40 in attendance to watch him on the links, according to the Sun.
And until the signing no-show, their faith had been rewarded.
Barrett had been shooting solidly in the first round Monday, going an even par for the first nine holes before faltering slightly on the back nine, according to the Sun.
Still, he birdied on the 18th, setting himself up to go into the second round with some momentum, as well as some lunch in his stomach.
Unfortunately, that second round never happened.
“It’s really upsetting to go out like that because it wasn’t anything I did on the course or because I signed something wrong,” he told the Sun.
“I just got caught up in the moment. That was my responsibility, and I just didn’t do it.”
But he wants others to learn from it.
“If people hear this, for me specifically, I can take this as a learning experience,” he told the Sun. “I’ve never had a problem with rules in the past, and it only takes one time for you to feel this way to never want to feel it again.”
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