Latest news with #PhilipBarbaree
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway
Philip Barbaree tees off on the 13th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Tyrrell Hatton, of England, lines up a putt on the second hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Carlos Ortiz, of Mexico, watches his shot out of the rough on the 18th hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Scottie Scheffler reacts after missing a putt on the first hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Scottie Scheffler reacts after missing a putt on the first hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Philip Barbaree tees off on the 13th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Tyrrell Hatton, of England, lines up a putt on the second hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Carlos Ortiz, of Mexico, watches his shot out of the rough on the 18th hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Scottie Scheffler reacts after missing a putt on the first hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler arrived at Oakmont with his swing in a good place. Wherever that place was, it's gone. Temporarily, at least. While world's top-ranked player put together his best round of the week at the U.S. Open on Saturday by firing an even-par 70 to remain at 4 over, he knows tracking down good friend and third-round leader Sam Burns eight shots ahead might require the kind of crisp, clean golf Scheffler has struggled to produce over 54 holes. Advertisement 'Am I in the position I had hoped to be after three days? Obviously not,' Scheffler said. 'But for the way I've swung it and played the last few days, I feel like I could be a lot worse.' Such is the level that the 28-year-old star finds himself at that, during feels like an 'off week," he will head to the course on Sunday on the front page of the leaderboard, albeit at the bottom. 'For me to be sitting where I am this week, not having really my best stuff, I think is pretty good,' Scheffler said. It's not like Scheffler hasn't been searching for it. He hit the practice range shortly after a 71 on Friday, then proceeded to have an animated session with longtime coach Randy Smith. Scheffler waved his arms at times, clearly frustrated by the results. Advertisement Asked about it, Scheffler shrugged and called the whole thing 'pretty regular," and it should be pointed out that the practice range at most tournaments doesn't sit next to the media center as it does at Oakmont. Scheffler admitted the session ended without much progress, though Smith shared some thoughts that 'definitely helped.' Still, the 'silly mistakes' that have dogged him this week prevented him from making a legitimate move. He missed a 2-footer for par on the par-3 eighth. He hit it into the native area along the left side of the ninth fairway, forcing him to take a drop. He bounced back on the back nine. Stuffing a wedge to 10 inches on the par-5 12th for birdie. A drive into the fairway bunker on the par-4 14th led to a bogey, but he responded by birdieing the short par-4 17th. When he tapped in for par on 18, he'd inched up the leaderboard on a day he knew he needed to leap up it. On Sunday, Scheffler might need to go full Johnny Miller in 1973 to track down Burns. Considering the way Scheffler has played this season, maybe there's reason for optimism, even when things aren't coming as easily as he's made it look. Advertisement 'I've had three days where I haven't really had my swing, and I've been battling out there and still have a chance, albeit an outside chance,' he said. 'But still a chance.' Charging Carlos Carlos Ortiz was in danger of missing the cut when he began the second round by shooting a 5-over 40 on the front nine. Twenty-seven holes and 30-ish hours later, the 34-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico, will go out in one of the final groups after firing a 3-under 67 in the third round. Heady territory for a player who came to Oakmont having made the cut just twice in nine major appearances. Ortiz, who won the Houston Open in 2020 before joining LIV Golf in 2022, had a nearly flawless card slightly more gettable — by Oakmont standards anyway — course thanks to overnight rain that softened things up a bit. Advertisement Ortiz birdied both the par-5s and added birdies on the par-3 sixth and the par-4 14th. His bid for a bogey-free round ended when he failed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker following an errant drive. He shrugged it off afterward, pointing to all the positives instead. He'll wake up Sunday in contention at the U.S. Open. During the tournament's last trip to Oakmont nine years ago, he shot back-to-back 76s to miss the weekend by six. Not this time. 'Different player, same course,' Ortiz said, then added for emphasis, 'same course.' A big putt Philip Barbaree Jr. had a sleepless night for all the right reasons. He had to return to Oakmont on Saturday morning to finish his second round, knowing he had to make a par to make the cut for the first time in the U.S. Open. Advertisement His final hole was No. 9, the hardest one on perhaps golf's toughest course. 'Probably 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 said. He found the fairway. He hit his approach to 25 feet. He left the uphill putt 5 feet short. And he made it for a 71 to finish at 7-over 147. An hour later, he teed off in the third round with Oakmont's head pro, Devin Gee, as his non-scoring marker. Barbaree had a pair of double bogeys and an eagle in his round of 75. Advertisement But that par is what mattered. The celebration looked like someone who won the tournament, especially the strong hug with his caddie — wife, Chloe. 'To be able to pull off a shot like that when it matters, and then with her on the bag, it's special,' Barbaree said. His wife knows next to nothing about golf, but Barbaree asked her to caddie for him last year. He immediately started playing better and asked her to stick around. He's on the PGA Tour Americas, a third-tier circuit that splits time between Latin America and Canada. The cut at least exempts Barbaree from having to go through the first stage of Q-school later this year. Barbaree also gets to skip the first stage of U.S. Open qualifying next spring. Advertisement Big putt, indeed. Not a fan Tyrrell Hatton is rarely one to keep his emotions in check. Yet the fiery Englishman managed to do just that during one particularly difficult moment to keep a round that became a 2-under 68 and thrust him into contention at 1-over on track. Hatton was at 3 under for the day and even for the tournament when his approach to the par-4 15th landed in the grass on a side slope abutting a greenside bunker. Standing awkwardly, he choked down on a lob wedge and was 'delighted' when the ball managed to stay on the putting surface, though that didn't stop him from gesturing angrily in the direction of the bunker after he three-putted for a double bogey. Advertisement While Hatton would prefer not to have so much thick rough around the bunkers, he knows it's pointless to complain about the setup. 'It doesn't matter if I don't agree with it or every player in the field doesn't agree with it,' he said. 'Everyone has to deal with it. It's just how it is.' Hatton recovered by birdieing the par-4 17th and saving par on the 18th after his drive found a bunker to put him in the mix for his first major. ___ AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contrubuted to this report. ___ AP golf:
CNN
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Amid the frustration at Oakmont, one golfer and his caddie wife are having the time of their lives
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.
CNN
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Amid the frustration at Oakmont, one golfer and his caddie wife are having the time of their lives
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.
CNN
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Amid the frustration at Oakmont, one golfer and his caddie wife are having the time of their lives
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.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
U.S. Open: Philip Barbaree and his caddying wife provide the best celebration of the tournament
OAKMONT, Pa. — Imagine a five-foot putt, one shorter than the width of your outstretched arms. If you're a professional golfer, you've got a roughly three-in-four chance of making it. The odds are very much in your favor. Now imagine that putt is to make the cut at a major — in this case, the U.S. Open. Suddenly that five feet starts to look like five miles, doesn't it? Advertisement Philip Barbaree faced that exact challenge Saturday morning. The former Junior Amateur champion returned to the course early Saturday to finish out his rain-delayed second round. He needed to make par on his final hole to make the cut. No pressure. With his wife Chloe caddying for him, with his entire career leading up to this very moment, Barbaree stepped up to the ball, gave it a tap, and watched it roll slightly uphill and true: The moment of sheer joy, the exultation and embrace of Philip and Chloe, rocketed around social media with good reason. Even if you don't know who the Barbarees are — and, let's be honest, most golf fans don't — you can see the joy on their faces, pride and relief and exultation all at once. It was a welcome antidote to all the seething, griping and club-tossing happening elsewhere on the course. Advertisement Here's how it came together. Barbaree has spent most of the last half-decade trying to find his way in the merciless world of professional golf. The 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur champion — he won it two years after a guy named Scottie Scheffler — Barbaree has struggled since turning pro out of LSU in 2021. At one point, he went three years without making a cut on a national-level tour. He only qualified for this year's U.S. Open through local and regional tournaments, but an opening-round 76 appeared to put his dreams of making the cut in jeopardy. The less-than-desirable late-Friday tee time meant Barbaree would have a whole lot of time to think about how to attack the cut line. He posted a three-birdie, two-bogey round through the first 15 holes of Friday to get two strokes clear of the +7 cut line. The finish line was in sight. But at Oakmont, nothing is ever easy. Barbaree bogeyed the par-4 7th, shrinking his margin of error to a single stroke. At that point, the heavens above Oakmont erupted, sending Barbaree and the other few golfers still on the course home for the night. He would have to return to Oakmont at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, and he would be facing the two toughest holes on the course. Advertisement On the par-3 8th, his tee shot reached the green, but 101 feet from the pin. With the greens more unpredictable after an inch of rain had fallen, Barbaree three-putted, eliminating all cushion. Now he would need to make a par on the par-4 ninth hole — the toughest hole on the course, one that had been playing to an average of 4.54 strokes on Friday — to extend his tournament. His tee shot found the fairway, his second shot reached the green 32 feet from the pin, and his first putt stopped five feet, two inches short. He breathed deep, stepped up … and got it done. 'Knowing that I pretty much had to come out and make par on one of the hardest holes on the course,' Barbaree said after his round, 'and then to actually do it, you know, that's what you practice for, that's what you dream about.' Advertisement Then he turned to Chloe, who stood beside him smiling. 'To be able to pull off a shot like that when it matters, and then with her on the bag,' he said, 'is special.' Chloe has been caddying for Philip for about a year. She doesn't tote a full tour bag, and she doesn't necessarily help him with the nuances of the course or club selection the way longtime caddies might. 'I always tell him I'm honored that he chooses me as his caddy because I know that's a big role to fill,' she said, smiling. 'I'm not pushy, you know. I don't know all the facts, so I'm really there for moral support and encouragement.' 'I don't like a lot of information out there. I'll start thinking way too much, so if I start talking it through with the caddy then sometimes I just get it in my own head,' Philip explained with a laugh. 'Just to have her there with me, just to provide some peace and comfort, it's been really nice.' Advertisement Professionally speaking, making the cut at the U.S. Open is a huge benefit to Barbaree's career. He'll cash a significant paycheck this week, and he's proven he can hang with the game's best; he's several strokes ahead of major winners Cam Smith and Hideki Matsuyama after three rounds, and that's not to mention all those who didn't even make the cut. Beyond that, though, his performance this week exempts him from the first stage of Q School, giving him a leg up on obtaining his full PGA Tour card for the 2026 season. 'Oakmont's hard, but Q-School as a whole might be harder,' Barbaree said. 'Just to be able to skip a stage is huge.' Also hard: sticking with your golf dreams. Barbaree conceded that he's gone through some dark times as he's chased his dream. 'There were some down periods, absolutely,' he said, 'multiple times where I'm thinking, Do I want to keep playing? Do I want to keep doing this? But I love golf so much that it's just too hard to give up.' Plus, as he noted with a smile, there are tougher jobs than pro golfer. 'Oakmont is just barely harder than my experience as a busboy at my dad's steakhouse,' he said. '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 had to get back on the course.' The decision has paid off nicely so far this week.
