Airline costs golfer chance of US Open place

On Monday, Michael Buttacavoli was preparing to qualify for the US Open. But there was one issue: he didn’t have any clubs to play with.

The 29-year old was forced to pull out of the US Open sectional qualifier after he lost his clubs on an overnight American Airlines flight from Ecuador to Miami.

Buttacavoli, who plays on the PGA Latinoamerica Tour, had just finished T51 at the Quito Open on Sunday. He was bidding to make it to Jupiter, Florida, in a tight window for the chance to tee it up at Erin Hills in less than two weeks’ time.

He told Golf Digest: “I was met with supportive parents with food in the car and stuff I needed. My brother was going to caddie for me. I figured I’d get there, have a 30-40-minute warm-up, and go. My bag just never came.”

Buttacavoli showed his disappointment in a series of tweets to American Airlines:

Buttacavoli could have had the option to use rented clubs, but he said it was too late with the time he had wasted at the airport, he would likely miss his tee time.

Even if he did, the odds would have been stacked against him to get one of the three available spots from 49 players who were in the qualifier.

On Monday night, the ordeal was over for Buttacavoli as he got his clubs back. He remains upbeat on his way to this week’s Puerto Plata DR Open.

He added: “With the bad luck comes good luck. So hopefully because of this, I’ll start getting some more putts to drop.”