Six golfers denied U.S. Open shot at Final Qualifying after medical emergency on flight

For six PGA Tour Americas players, Golf's Longest Day was over before it even began.

A group of seven players travelling from Mexico to Florida for U.S. Open Final Qualifying saw their plans thrown into chaos on Sunday night when a medical emergency aboard their flight forced an unscheduled diversion.

The players, including former U.S. Open co-low amateur Luis Gagne, had just completed the PGA Tour Americas' Mexico Championship and were racing to BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, one of 10 Final Qualifying venues for the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

According to Golf Channel's Brentley Romine, the flight from Mexico City to Miami was diverted to Veracruz after a passenger required urgent medical attention.

The golfers were forced to deplane and wait for a replacement aircraft before finally departing again at around 2 a.m.

By the time they landed in Miami at 6:45 a.m. ET, it was too late for most of them.

Only Chris Nido managed to make it to BallenIsles in time to tee it up. Incredibly, he did so using a friend's clubs after his own equipment was left behind in Mexico during the disruption.

The other six players never got the opportunity.

While the circumstances understandably pale in comparison to the wellbeing of the passenger involved, it was a devastating outcome for a group of players chasing one of golf's most coveted opportunities.

Final Qualifying — better known as Golf's Longest Day — is one of the most demanding tests in the sport. 

Players must navigate 36 holes in a single day for a place in the U.S. Open, with only a handful of spots available at each venue.

This year, qualifiers are being staged across 10 sites in the United States and Canada, with dreams of reaching Shinnecock Hills from 18-21 June hanging in the balance.

Tiger Woods' son Charlie Woods might out on competing in U.S. Open Final Qualifying, but he is still on site caddying for his FSU teammate Miles Russell at BallenIsles in Florida.

For six PGA Tour Americas players, however, those dreams ended not with a missed putt or a wayward drive, but with a flight diversion hundreds of miles from the golf course.

Sometimes the cruellest breaks in golf happen long before the first tee shot is struck.