Christian DiMarco Misses U.S. Open Opportunity on a Coin Flip

With the U.S. Open so close, there are many qualifiers being held around the country for the right to play in the tournament. One player with a familiar last name just got knocked out of one of those qualifiers in one of the most strange ways possible.

Christian DiMarco is a senior and impressive amateur playing at the University of South Florida. His father, Chris DiMarco, was a PGA TOUR regular and participated in nine U.S. Opens during his professional career. Christian was looking to follow in his father’s footsteps this week, competing in a local qualifier in Florida but didn’t think he would make the next round.

The younger DiMarco ended up shooting even par on the final day, not too impressive and not a score you would expect to push you through to the next round. Well, DiMarco got a surprise, as he ended up tying for the final spot to move forward. Unfortunately, he and the other player could not be found for a playoff so the administrators of the event flipped a coin to determine who would move on. DiMarco lost the coin flip that he never even knew happened.

Chris DiMarco talks over his tee shot with his son and caddie…

Chris DiMarco talks over his tee shot with his son and caddie Christian DiMarco on the fourth hole during the final round of the Reno-Tahoe Open at Montreux Golf and Country Club on August 4, 2013 in… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

If you’re wondering if this is the correct procedure, Golf Digest asked the USGA and their response was that the Florida Golf Association “proceeded correctly per procedure to flip a coin when both players were not present to decide the final spot in a hole-by-hole playoff. If the playoff had involved more than two players, the spots would be decided by lot.”

As for where DiMarco was during that final round, he went home after his even-par finish on the day. According to him, he had shot one-under in the same qualifier last year in the final round and had come nowhere close to moving on. Since he finished even worse this year, he had assumed he had no shot and went home. His friend texted him that he needed to report back for a playoff but the message reached him too late.

It’s unfortunate that DiMarco missed out on this huge opportunity because of chance but it wouldn’t have come to that if he had stayed at the course. Regardless, DiMarco has good genes and a solid amateur track record, so we will likely hear his name on the PGA TOUR soon enough.

Cover Image via Flickr