PGA Tour star "punched in face" as 18th hole collapse costs him £1.27m
Thomas Detry admitted he “got punched in the face” after an 18th hole collapse saw his Farmers Insurance Open challenge go up in smoke.
The Belgian golfer was leading the PGA Tour event with just one hole remaining in his penultimate round. He hit what was described by CBS Sports broadcasters as the “Drive of the Day” on the Par 5.
But after opting to lay up, he saw his third shot backspin from the back of the green and into the water. He eventually made a double bogey seven. It ensured he lost the lead, before his challenge for victory - and a $1.62 million (£1.27m) top prize - fizzled out with a +2 final round.
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Speaking after the penultimate round and his watery finish, Detry explained: “I hit an amazing drive; I drove it great on 18. I was just in between 3-wood, hybrid.
“It’s been a very long day. I think we played in 5 hours, 45 [minutes], I had a little bit of mud on the ball, the lie wasn’t perfect, light was starting to be - it was starting to be dark.
“There was a couple of different factors that were not in favor. Obviously short is a no-go.
“So we decided to be smart and there we go, I got punched in the face.”
Detry was left with his head in his hands after his 18th hole nightmare (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)Detry expressed his confidence that he could recover to mount a challenge for victory in Saturday’s final round. Those hopes never materialised as he finished tied for 20th place, taking home $119,250 instead of the $1.62 million which went to winner Mattieu Pavon.
“Yeah, it’s really tough, honestly,” Detry said after his third round. “I’ve been working on a lot of things mentally as well and I feel I’m doing everything the right way and it still seems to happen.
“It’s very tough, but in hindsight, I did a lot of good things today. I made some mistakes and stayed patient. I made some great birdies coming back down the stretch. The last couple of holes are tough here. I drove the ball great, I made some nice putts for birdie.
“Yeah, I mean, I just have to face adversity and just try to learn from it again, I guess. More real things that you can learn from it again, you know. Yeah, I felt like I really did everything the right way on the last couple holes and it really didn’t pay off and it was an expensive one, yeah.”
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