…and he was actually trying, not like some of John Daly’s blowups. He still managed to shoot an 80, meaning he was four under on the other 17 holes. Four under for the round would have put him in second place.
He hit himself with the ball adding insult and a bruise to the score.
Don’t you just stop counting after some point and call it 5 over, or whatever?
Not in a tournament! :dubious:
ESPN has a concise (albeit clumsily narrated) summary of the disaster.
Tee shot, slices horribly into trees and dried twigs. Lost ball, has to go back to the tee box with a stroke and distance penalty.
3rd shot. Slices horribly again. Is able to find the ball, now has to decide whether to play it or take another S&D.
4th shot, decides to go for it. Ball slams right into tree, hits him, and buries itself in the kindling. That’s a two stroke penalty, plus one more for an unplayable lie. (Oh, and since he played it, no going back to the tee box now.)
Laying 8 now. Complete mishit. Impatience starting to show. Follows with a quick backhand shot, gets a few feet. Sets up in his normal stance…whiffs.
Laying 11, manages to actually get some forward progress; almost out of trouble now. 12, another complete mis-hit, and he’s still almost out of trouble.
13. YES! HE’S MADE IT…to the rough. Barely. Actually makes a pretty good recovery from there, then mercifully ends it with a two-putt.
So, what’s the big consequence of this? Well, he didn’t make the cut. Aaaand…that’s about it.
That’s what I love about this, that everyone seems to understand. It’s golf. This is what happens. And it’s happened so many times at this point, it’s not even possible to ridicule him for it. Hey, remember when Jean Van De Velde totally choked away the British Open on the very last hole? That was twelve years ago. Given how many epic collapses there have been since then, that may as well be a century.
By God, Kevin Na wasn’t the first, not by a million miles, and he won’t be the last, not by five million miles.
etv78 - Unfortunately, video game rules don’t apply to the PGA. That’s why they get paid the big bucks, pal.
Playing in my Stroke Play Club Championship about 12 yrs ago, I was playing some of the best golf of my life. I was in the zone.
Practice Round on Friday, I played the last 10 holes in 5 under.
Saturday, 1st round, my good play continued, I was 4 under through 13 holes. OMG, I have just played the last 23 holes at 9 under par.
Came to hole 14, a long par 3, with a very tough green to putt. Hit the green with a 25 footer, side hill left to right putt. I three putted. Still feeling good, 3 under through 14 holes. Haven’t missed a shot.
Came to Hole 15, a long slight dogleg right par 5, with Out of Bounds on both right side and left side. Hit what i thought was a good drive down the right side. Took a horrible bounce, to the right and ended up out of bounds by a few inches. Ugh.
Disgusted, but still upbeat, Went back to the tee and hit my 2nd drive (3rd shot) right down the middle, long.
perfect position to hit my 4th shot, and hit my worst shot in a month. A big snap hook, Out of bounds left, 50 yds left.
Hitting 6 from the fairway, hit a good shot, to about 100 yds away, in perfect layup. Laying 6.
Did I mention that my course is in a residential neighborhood? There is Out of bounds 50 ft past the green. (How is this for obvious foreshadowing?).
About to hit my 7th shot to the green, someone honks a horn in my back-swing (not intentional). I skull the 7th shot over the green, and yes Out of bounds.
hit another shot from the layup, hit a great shot on the green. about 10 ft away for a 10.
3 putts later, I am walking off the green with a 7 over par 12. In absolute Shock. My playing companions are afraid to talk to me.
I announce (before anyone asks) that I made a 12.
I went from 4 under to 4 over in two holes. I make two pars and birdie on the last three holes to shoot 75, 3 over. With a 12.
The next day, I make a 9 on the 15th hole, shooting 76. 151 total for the Club Championship 7 over. and I was 11 over on the 15th hole. I finish T3rd.
Winner shot 148. If I make triple bogey both days on hole 15, I win the tournament by two shots. (all other things being equal).
I never won the stroke play club championship. Never. frequently competitive, finishing 2nd a couple times and usually in the top 6.
FTR, I have won 3 match play club championships (where one bad hole will not prevent you from winning.)
And Yes, just about every-time I play the 15th hole, I think about that particular club Championship.
And FWIW, I am not the only one to have a train-wreck on the 15 hole. There is usually a big score every year on the hole. And laying up off the tee really is not a good strategic option. The fairway gets wider as you hit the ball longer. And the second shot from 200 yds off the tee is really tough.
THAT"S MY POINT!!! In a tournament, you play until you hole out! BTW, the fact Van De Velde being 12 years ago makes me feel OLD!
Japanese amateurs take their golf very seriously, and will play out holes forever. However, once we were playing in an industry sponsored event and a guy got stuck in a bunker. The sand was much different than most other bunkers I’ve seen here. Really hard to hit out of.
Fortunately, I took a couple of swings in the practice bunker before the round started so I was able to get out of the one I go into. Another of our foursome wasn’t that lucky. He got stuck in a hole with side which went straight up. He took swing after swing after swing. After the first one or two, we were joking a little, but it just got painful after six or seven.
After eight or nine attempts, with only one of them even coming close to the edge he looked up and raised his hands in the international sign of surrender.
In the States, I don’t think most people would care, but the Japanese really didn’t know what to do.
I did a dramatic “Look, it’s a plane,” and pointed to the sky, then after the people had momentarily looked up, the ball had somehow gotten out of the hole.
We weren’t pros, and the guy hadn’t been in the running before the hole, and shooting a 15 or 16 on that hole knocked him to the back of the pack anyway.
notfrommensa - Oh, man, that…that’s just cruel.
Did you ever propose a change to some kind of point system, a la Modified Stableford? I certainly would have.
We have a modified stableford tournament calcutta every year. Great format for a calcutta.
But this was the Club Championship. Every stroke counts. I wouldn’t have it any other way.