Amid the frustration at Oakmont, one golfer and his caddie wife are having the time of their lives

CNN

10 hours ago

It must surely be one of the best and most joyous moments of this year's US Open: Philip Barbaree is pinching himself in disbelief after making the cut at the brutally tough Oakmont Country Club.
It's a dream that's now a reality for a young American golfer who just four years ago was still working at his father's steakhouse.
But it's also a dream that may never have happened had life events taken a different path.
Oakmont is a notoriously challenging course, a venue that has already seen big-name players like defending champion Bryson DeChambeau fail to make it through to the last two rounds. Many players have been throwing clubs, slamming them in frustration, cursing the brutal course.
But not Philip Barbaree, whose journey is both remarkable and inspiring and the best part about it is that the 27-year-old from Louisiana – who came through final qualifying in Florida – gets to share his success with the love of his life: His wife, best friend, and caddie Chloe who he married earlier this year.
'She's been caddying for about a year now on the bag, and it's been awesome. At first it started as, will you just caddie for me for a couple days, I don't have a caddie? And then I started playing well, and then I pretty much made her stick around. I forced her to stick around. She actually enjoys it, but it's great,' Barbaree told CNN Sports.
'I don't like lot of information out there. I'll start thinking way too much. If I start talking it through with a caddie, then sometimes I just get in my own head. For me just to do my own thing and have her there for support and to give me good words whenever I need it or just to have some peace and comfort, it's been really nice. A really good team,' he added.
Chloe's own journey is quite remarkable too. She's not a golfer and she only fully embraced the sport when she started out on Philip's bag. It's something she feels works in the couple's favor.
'He thinks that I bring a different perspective since I don't have a golf background, I don't play golf, so I see things that maybe others wouldn't see and point it out to him, and it just works,' she said. 'I love it. I always tell him I'm honored that he chooses me as his caddie because I know that's a big role to fill.'
'I think it just works because I'm there for moral support, whatever he needs. I'm not pushy. I don't know all the facts, so I'm there for moral support. Usually, the advice I give him is to not overthink and be confident because I know that he knows what he's doing, and when he's confident, he plays the best. So, I just say, be confident in your decisions. You know you best. Just play your own game and have fun,' Chloe added.
Ten years ago, Barbaree won the US Junior Amateur event but not too much has gone right since until this week in the ultra-competitive world of professional golf.
Philip – who currently plays on the PGA Tour Americas circuit – is competing in just his second US Open and his first since missing the cut at the 2018 tournament, which is why making a nervy 5-footer for par at his last hole early on Saturday to make the cut for the weekend meant the world to him.
When play was suspended late on Friday due to a downpour of rain, Barbaree was one of 13 players who had to return early the next morning to complete some unfinished business. After a bogey on his first hole of the day, he knew what had to be done on the last after a less than perfect night's sleep.
'A lot of pent-up emotion and stress from sleeping last night or not sleeping last night, just knowing that I pretty much had to come out and make par on one of the hardest holes on the course,' he told CNN Sports. 'And then to actually do it, that's what you practice for, that's what you care about. To be able to pull off a shot like that when it matters, and then with her on the bag, it's special.'
And speaking of that bag, Chloe said her spouse tries to make it as a light as possible for her.
'Still feels heavy to me but I really enjoy it. I like getting to be by his side and there for him if he needs a pep talk or pick me up whatever. It's just a really cool experience together and to get to travel together so he doesn't have to be alone is so cool,' she said.
The last couple of days have proved to be rollercoaster of emotions for a young golfer who really has been living the dream.
He was last to make the cut and then he had the first tee time of Saturday's third round. And there's more. He and Chloe basically had the course to themselves for a while as the former Louisiana State University standout was playing solo.
And then came a moment to savor. A moment of magic came when Barbaree drained a 36-footer for eagle as he went on to shoot a third-round 75, ending up at 12-over par for the tournament going into Sunday's final round.
Philip credits Chloe for playing such a key role in helping to turn his career around. The couple share a special bond, with Barbaree paying a moving tribute to his wife just last month on his Instagram account to celebrate their 1-year engagement anniversary.
A post shared by PHILIP BARBAREE JR (@philipbarbareegolf) In what he called a wife appreciation post following a recent event, Philip thanked his wife for caddying for him for 33 holes in one day at 9,400 feet above sea level – no easy task.
Before meeting Chloe, life was far from straightforward for Philip Barbaree as a golfer. The challenging times would come and at one point he was even left questioning his future in the sport.
'Professional golf is tough. It's very, very hard. I think having the right people around you is big and I got a great family, a great wife and her family. You know when she started caddying, it was the best because that means I don't have to travel to tournaments alone. I don't have to do all these things by myself, which is fine, but you know it's not the same as having your wife there,' Philip reflected.
'There were some down periods. Multiple times where, thinking do I want to keep playing? Do I want to keep doing this? But I love golf so much that it was just too hard to give up. And so, to see kind of the hard work pay off and some of the things come into form, it means so much.'
However it all plays out across this weekend, Philip Barbaree will likely never forget what he's achieved here at Oakmont knowing full well it has the potential to be truly life changing.
And as for that steakhouse experience back in 2021?
'Oakmont is just barely harder than my experience as a busboy at my dad's steakhouse. In two short days I got sick, I cut my finger wide open, and it just wasn't a whole lot of fun. So, I knew I needed to get back out on the course,' he said.