Pro drops 68 spots (!) on Honda Classic leaderboard after water disaster

— On Long’s second stroke, from 148 yards out, he discovered the water, although his ball was a couple of foot wanting the upslope towards the inexperienced, and 26 ft from the outlet. 

— Before Long’s third stroke, he took off his footwear and socks and rolled up the legs of his black pants. He was going to hit. Long choked down on an iron. He tried to take a stance within the water. At one level, his caddie, Matt Erwin, moved down the slope, squatted, went over the shot along with his participant after which backed away.   

“How about this one — open face, calf high, in the water, the ball just barely peeking out of …? Can he do this?” announcer Ned Michaels stated on the PGA Tour Live broadcast. 

“The key to this shot: You almost have to hit it fat,” analyst Billy Kratzert stated. “Don’t try to hit the ball. Try to hit just like a bunker shot.”

Long hit it nowhere. He lifted his head up, then regarded again down. There was a splash. Erwin, his caddie, walked over, and Long cleaned his membership off with a towel. 

— On Long’s fourth stroke, he tried once more from the water. This time, there was no splash, and the ball popped out, nevertheless it dropped a couple of ft onto the upslope and rolled again in. Long raised his head once more, then moved it slowly proper. He walked out of the water. 

“Oh, no,” Michaels stated on the published, after Long hit. “Don’t roll backwards, ball.” 

— On Long’s fifth stroke, he took a penalty, and he performed from the place he hit his second shot. Since his ball by no means cleared the penalty space on strokes three and 4, he was allowed to do that, under rule 17.2. 

— On Long’s sixth stroke, he hit to six ft. There was no water this time. 

— On Long’s seventh stroke, he missed his triple-bogey putt. 

And he tapped in for a quadruple-bogey eight. He had began the outlet at even par for the event, and in a tie for 53rd. He left it at four-over and tied for 121st, a drop of 68 spots. 

“Was it worth the risk, even if he had gotten it out?” Michaels requested on the published.

“Well, you’re just trying to make no more than five,” Kratzert stated. “To attempt that shot, you’re trying to make no more than five.”

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Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his position, he’s accountable for modifying, writing and creating tales throughout the golf area. And when he’s not writing about methods to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native might be taking part in the sport, hitting the ball left, proper and brief, and consuming a chilly beer to clean away his rating. You can attain out to him about any of those matters — his tales, his sport or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.