Kevin Na takes 16 on a straightforward par 4
It's always gratifying when you hear of a very good professional golfer (and Na is a very good professional golfer, he's world number 64) having a moment like the rest of us. This one was, as far as anyone can ascertain, a PGA Tour record, and even better was captured in all its glory on camera.
How Na played like me:
Tee shot flies into the trees. Unplayable lie. Na goes back to the tee.
Third shot from the tee flies back into the same trees.
Fourth shot, Na hits a tree, his ball comes back and hits him (one shot penalty), ends up in another unplayable lie. A further one shot penalty as Na drops back behind where it came to rest.
Na then loses the plot completely, and has seven more swipes (hitting more trees along the way) to finally scramble the ball out onto the fairway. It appears at least one of those swipes is an air shot.
His fourteenth shot finds the green, and admirably he then only takes two putts.
Na took only 64 shots for the other 17 holes in his round! If he'd found a decent spot to drop the original unplayable ball back from to enable a hack back to the fairway with what would have been his third shot, he'd likely have made six or seven at worst, not sixteen.
It's always gratifying when you hear of a very good professional golfer (and Na is a very good professional golfer, he's world number 64) having a moment like the rest of us. This one was, as far as anyone can ascertain, a PGA Tour record, and even better was captured in all its glory on camera.
How Na played like me:
Tee shot flies into the trees. Unplayable lie. Na goes back to the tee.
Third shot from the tee flies back into the same trees.
Fourth shot, Na hits a tree, his ball comes back and hits him (one shot penalty), ends up in another unplayable lie. A further one shot penalty as Na drops back behind where it came to rest.
Na then loses the plot completely, and has seven more swipes (hitting more trees along the way) to finally scramble the ball out onto the fairway. It appears at least one of those swipes is an air shot.
His fourteenth shot finds the green, and admirably he then only takes two putts.
Na took only 64 shots for the other 17 holes in his round! If he'd found a decent spot to drop the original unplayable ball back from to enable a hack back to the fairway with what would have been his third shot, he'd likely have made six or seven at worst, not sixteen.
Comment