A 9:40 a.m. tee time at Boone's Trace National Golf Club and nearly eight hours later, former Kentucky golfer and current assistant coach for the Wildcats Chip McDaniel achieved what over 40 golfers aimed to do, a spot in the Barbasol Championship.
After he finished the 18th hole awaiting his fate he said, "My expectations were pretty low and sometimes you play better when the expectations are low."
Once play was done for the day, McDaniel found himself in a playoff round with Matt Sharpstene and Daniel Iceman for the final two qualifying spots.
McDaniel and Sharpstene quickly secured the spots after the first playoff hole. They joined Chris Nido who finished first at eight under and Ohio State senior Maxwell Moldovan who finished second at seven under.
"I'm not gonna lie I got in the playoff and I was pretty excited. Really wanted to get through. Now again the expectations are going to be low this week just have fun, course I know, play in front of the home crowd. Can't wait," McDaniel said.
"I feel very confident. I putted very good today which makes me score really well. I feel great and looking forward to the week. I have zero expectations just go out and play golf and try my best," Nido said.
"God is good. I'm super excited. I've been struggling a little bit after the U.S. Open and working hard, especially on my driving. I just really trusted it, especially the last few holes today when the pressure was on. I was able to hit some good shots, so I'm excited to see what can happen this week," Moldovan said.
McDaniel is feeling relaxed as he heads into the championship this weekend.
"The Barbasol is a course that I know, and I should be comfortable there. I'll get to sleep in my own bed, so it's just going to be a week where you focus on golf as little as possible," McDaniel said.
Kentucky senior Campbell Kremer played alongside McDaniel in the same group. Despite not qualifying, he enjoyed getting out on the green with some familiar faces.
"I've been playing well, so I had some confidence coming in. It was fun playing with my new assistant coach," Kremer said.
When asked how it was playing with Chip he said, "It was fun. I mean he's Mr. Monday. It was fun having him there and my teammate caddied for me, so it was a good day."
"I'm going to be coaching him [Kremer] for his senior year. It was just really comfortable out there, so I think that helped me a lot," McDaniel said.
The Barbasol Championship is July 13-16 at Keene Trace Golf Club.
