We’ve heard some horror stories through the years with airlines losing or damaging golf clubs, but this one is particularly sad. On Monday, Michael Buttacavoli was set to try to qualify for the U.S. Open -- until his sticks never showed up. What a nightmare. 
 
 No big deal, American Airlines. It's just the U.S. OPEN. 
 
 Buttacavoli, a 29-year-old currently playing on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica Tour, advanced through local qualifying by shooting 69 at The Club at Emerald Hills (Hollywood, Fla.) last month. He was to play in Monday's sectional qualifier at Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Fla., where an early 7:26 tee time gave him a small, but doable travel window after flying overnight to Miami from Ecuador after finishing T-51 in the Quito Open. 
 
 "I was met with supportive parents with food in the car and stuff I needed. My brother was going to caddie for me. I figured I'd get there, have a 30-40 minute warmup, and go," Buttacavoli said when reached by phone on Monday. "My bag just never came." 
 
 Instead, Buttacavoli, who has made it to sectional qualifying three other times, but never gotten into the U.S. Open, was forced to scramble back and forth between the baggage carousel and the counter, losing valuable time. His clothes made it off the plane, but he believes his golf bag got lost in the shuffle with clubs of other players on the flight who were on their way to the Dominican Republic for the next PGA Tour Latinoamerica event. 
 
 Following his initial tweet Monday morning, he exchanged messages with American Airlines: 
 
 And then with a fellow golfer: 
 
 PGA Tour pro Zac Blair weighed in wondering why he didn't at least try with a rental set at the site with 49 players vying for just three spots. 
 
 Could Michael have given it a go with a rental set? Sure. Would that have made for an even better tale had he earned a spot in the field at Erin Hills? Of course. But it's hard to imagine the despair he felt when he realized his clubs were missing. The tour pro who went to Rice University knew his best chance for the biggest golf moment of his life vanished as soon as his golf clubs disappeared. 
 
 "It’s a challenge enough to qualify with your own golf clubs," said Buttacavoli, who in hindsight would have tried to get his brother to bring his clubs, which included a set of Michael's old irons, to the course. "I have a lot of confidence in my abilities, but that’s not giving enough credit to the rest of the guys in the field." 
 
 Somehow, Buttacavoli has also retained a lot of positivity throughout this ordeal. He thinks he'll get his clubs back, and he plans to play well in this week's Puerto Plata DR Open. 
 
 "With the bad luck comes good luck," he said. "So hopefully, because of this, I’ll start getting some more putts to drop." 
 
 We hope so, too. 
 
 UPDATE: At least Michael got his clubs back. 
 
 RELATED: Why traveling with golf clubs is more costly than ever 
 
 WATCH: GOLF DIGEST VIDEOS ||||| Update -- American Airlines said that Michael Buttacavoli's golf clubs arrived on time with his flight, but were not picked up at baggage claim in Miami. The airline issued this statement to Fox News: "We have looked into the claims by Mr. Buttacavoli. His red-eye flight arrived on-time at 4:41 a.m. ET, Monday, June 5. Our scan data shows that both of his checked bags were on his flight. Both bags came off within the CBP area, since this was an international arrival. The golf bags were not claimed by the passenger.” 
 
 Buttacavoli eventually tweeted that his bags had been delivered to him the evening of June 5, and thanked the airline for their help, despite missing out on the qualifier. 
 
 By the time I gave up on these it was too late to rent a set & make my tee time. Thanks @AmericanAir for finding them. Time to win in the DR pic.twitter.com/JKSbcS2U8R — Michael Buttacavoli (@mbutta326) June 5, 2017 
 
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 Michael Buttacavoli was forced to withdraw from a U.S. Open sectional qualifier after his golf clubs failed to make it to their intended destination Monday. 
 
 Buttacavoli, who plays on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, flew American Airlines overnight from Ecuador to Miami to play his qualifier at Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Fla., Monday morning. Despite the quick turnaround from his event in Ecuador, Buttacavoli made it for his 7:26 a.m. tee time. His clubs, however, did not. 
 
 Buttacavoli exchanged some exasperated tweets with the airline, but to no avail. If missing out on a shot at Erin Hills wasn't bad enough, Buttacavoli has another tournament this week in the Dominican Republic and will need his sticks for that, too. 
 
 Thank u @AmericanAir. 1 golf bag w/ priority tags on plane & the only bag u can't find. Unfortunately have to WD from @usopengolf sectionals — Michael Buttacavoli (@mbutta326) June 5, 2017 
 
 The 29-year-old has qualified for sectionals three other times, but has never made it past that stage. According to Golf Digest, Buttacavoli didn't try with a set of rentals, and in hindsight, could have asked his brother to borrow his set, as he was coming along to caddie. 
 
 "It's a challenge enough to qualify with your own golf clubs," Buttacavoli said. "I have a lot of confidence in my abilities, but that's not giving enough credit to the rest of the guys in the field."
– To compete in the qualifying rounds for the US Open, you sort of need your golf clubs—which is why one pro golfer is fuming at American Airlines for his now-squashed chances to make the cut. USA Today reports Michael Buttacavoli withdrew Monday from his last chance to play in the Open's sectional qualifiers after the airline couldn't track down a bag containing his clubs with priority tags. The 29-year-old, who's on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica roster, had flown on a red-eye from Ecuador to Miami and was dismayed to find that even though he made it to his early-morning tee time at Florida's Jupiter Hills Club, his clubs had gone missing, per Golf.com. "Thank u @AmericanAir," a frustrated Buttacavoli sarcastically tweeted just before 6am local time Monday, letting the airline know he had to pull out of the competition. AA offered to help track the bag down in a responding tweet, but Buttacavoli noted that ship had sailed. "It's too late," he retorted. "I already withdrew. You just needed to do your job in the first place." The airline tried to apologize, saying, "This wasn't the experience we had planned for you," but Buttacavoli was having none of it. "Stop apologizing. Don't need sympathy or u to be PC. Just do better," he tweeted. He added it was too late to rent a set by the time he realized his clubs weren't going to show up, though Golf Digest, which reports that Buttacavoli has made it to the sectional qualifying rounds three times before (but never to the Open itself), notes Buttacavoli could have asked his brother, who was caddying for him, to bring his own set. "It's a challenge enough to qualify with your own golf clubs," he says. American Airlines did eventually find his bag.