CROMWELL, Conn. _ After missing the cut at the King and Bear Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour this past weekend, Tyler McCumber returned home to Florida and opted to take a few days off from golf, socially distancing himself to the max.
He drove up to the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, and spent a few days camping and biking by himself. He returned home Tuesday, still under the impression that he had no chance of playing at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell this week.
But by Wednesday night, McCumber was on a 5:30 p.m. flight out of Jacksonville on his way to Connecticut. He was in.
Since Tuesday, five golfers have dropped out of the Travelers Championship field; Cameron Champ, who tested positive for coronavirus, Brooks Koepka, Chase Koepka, Graeme McDowell and Webb Simpson. McCumber got a call around 3 p.m. on Wednesday confirming that he would be taking Simpson's spot at the tournament, and would be grouped with world No. 2 Jon Rahm and defending champion Chez Reavie for the first round.
McCumber, ranked 390th in the world, outplayed both Rahm and Reavie on Thursday, shooting a 5-under-par 65, and was squarely inside the top 10 of the leaderboard when he left the course. Rahm shot a 4-under 66, and Reavie finished with an even-par 70.
"My game felt really good. I've been working hard on it and sort of trending," McCumber said. "Obviously getting back into some competition and competitive mode after some time off, little adjustments here and there, but it definitely clicked today, and I felt like this round was sort of coming. Getting off to a good start is always good."
McCumber thanked his support system at home for helping him through the last 24 hours, including his brother-in-law, whom he dubbed as "superman" for his efforts.
"He drove me to the airport last minute," McCumber said. "I called him, I'm like, 'Hey, man, I think I'm going to get into the tournament, can you find me a flight and maybe give me a ride to the airport and help me pack?' "
McCumber last played on tour earlier this month, when he missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge, the first event since the tour restarted. The 29-year-old is the son of Mark McCumber, a 10-time winner on tour.
"I'm going to take a good nap this afternoon, that's for sure," McCumber said. "We got in late last night, and obviously just emotions, sort of an array of high, low, going from not being in to maybe in and then sort of that not knowing and then knowing and then scrambling to get to the airport."
