When Opportunity Knocks

One start. One chance. Players who don’t have status rarely get a sponsor’s exemption into a PGA Tour event. Kentucky alum Cooper Musselman was lucky enough to get an exemption into his home-state event this week at the ISCO Championship. On Friday, he did what every player who Monday qualifies or receives an exemption into an event dreams of: He fired a 10-under 62, matching the low round of the day. 

"I've been preparing for this week for a month,” Musselman said on Friday night. “This is my Super Bowl." 

Last season, four years after turning pro, Musselman earned Korn Ferry status for the first time. He played 22 events and made 11 cuts with two top 25s, but after finishing 119th in points, he had to return to Q school. After breezing through first stage, the former Wildcat struggled and missed advancing to final stage by eight strokes. 

"It was the first time I ever even thought about not playing anymore, but I didn't think about it for long,” Musselman told me. “This is what I want to do."

He and his wife, Madison, were expecting their first child. Archie was born in May, and with no status, the prospect of facing a year of mini-tours and Mondays is difficult. After a talk with his dad and Madison, he decided to keep going. 

In March, Musselman played a round with Jimmy Kirchdorfer, the ISCO chairman and CEO, who also happened to be Cooper's neighbor growing up. ISCO has supported Musselman since he turned pro in 2018. Kirchdorfer told him that ISCO was considering taking over sponsorship of the opposite-field event in Kentucky. "He asked if I would play if I didn't have anything going that week," Musselman recalls. He laughed, saying he would make sure to keep his calendar clear. 

Players such as Musselman grind on mini-tours for small purses, on courses that often aren't very good, in remote places that are often hard to get to, wondering when their big opportunity might come. But knowing that in July he would have a start in a PGA Tour event helped sustain Musselman as he played events on the GPro Tour, Rolling Red Tour and All-Pro Tour while mixing in a few Monday qualifiers. Just a few weeks ago he was leading the All Pro Tour event in Illinois through three rounds before a final round 71 resulted in a third place finish.  He wasn't able to get through any of the Mondays, so the start in Kentucky would be his first of the season on any of the PGA Tour’s sanctioned circuits. In fact, it would be his fourth career start on the PGA Tour, three of which have come in this event. 

Musselman came into Thursday especially prepared, but when you know this might be your only opportunity of the year before Q school, it's hard not to put too much pressure on yourself. "The first nine holes were the most nervous I've been on a golf course," he said. A one-under 71 that included three bogeys left him well back of the projected cut and in 109th place. He would need to go low on Friday to have any chance at making the cut. 

The morning before his 8:57 second-round tee time was hectic, but in a good way. "We were scrambling to get Archie fed and dressed,” Musselman said, “so it was a great distraction." He nearly made an albatross on the second hole of the day, leaving his 2-iron from 258 yards about a foot short at the par-5 11th. The tap-in eagle got his day going. However, he came to his 12th hole at four under for the tournament and needed to play the last seven holes in four under par if he wanted to play the weekend in front of family and friends in his home state. (Yes, the cut came at 8 under par. Stay in school, kids!)  

On the par-4 3rd (his 12th), Musselman rolled in a 22-footer for birdie that started a streak of six birdies in seven holes. He punctuated the run on the final hole, making a 12-footer for his 62. As the afternoon wave started to tee off, there would be no worry about making the cut. He had climbed 94 spots, into a tie for 15th. 

"It's kind of a free roll for the weekend," Musselman said after the round was over. With only a few events left in the season, he knows the opportunities are dwindling to avoid a return trip to Q school. A top 10 would earn him a start in next week’s Barracuda Championship. And a win…

He’s 36 holes from changing his life. 

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