Disaster struck Anne Van Dam simply earlier than a playoff.
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There are some conditions the place you’ll be able to nearly anticipate your driver to snap. You give it to the airways with out a stiff arm or good journey case. You get somewhat offended after your fifth straight drive of the spherical snap-hooks into the woods once more (positive, it was the recoil). You give it to your newbie good friend who begins taking some overly steep observe swings within the car parking zone.
But driving in a cart on the way to a playoff for a professional occasion? That’s most likely one of many least seemingly conditions to break a driver. But sadly, that’s precisely what occurred to LPGA professional Anne Van Dam Sunday.
Van Dam started the ultimate spherical of the Ladies European Tour’s KPMG Irish Open with a three-shot lead however performed a shaky remaining spherical on Sunday and had to birdie the final to get right into a three-way playoff with Sweden’s Lisa Pettersson and Smilla Tarning Soenderby of Denmark.
No worries. Van Dam, a five-time LET winner, bought down in two from close to the entrance of the inexperienced on the par-5 18th to safe her spot, however by the point she reached the 18th tee at Dromoland Castle for the second time, her bag was somewhat lighter.
The 27-year-old from the Netherlands rode a cart again out to the tee for the playoff. As she and an official have been heading up the green, they have been directed to head exterior the ropes to get to the tee.
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The driver pulled up to the rope and Van Dam grabbed the rope to raise it over them. But she let go too quickly.
As the cart pulled by, unbeknownst to Van Dam and the official, the rope bought caught on Van Dam’s driver and dragged the entire bag off the again of the cart. When Van Dam went again to choose it again up, her driver headcover was left behind, indifferent from the remainder of the membership.
Under the Rules of Golf, a playoff in stroke play is a new round, that means Van Dam was free to exchange her driver earlier than the playoff started. However, Monday Q Info‘s Ryan French reported that was unlikely for Van Dam.
In the video above from the printed, a broadcaster asks, “It hasn’t happened again, has it?” That’s as a result of, in accordance to French, Van Dam was already enjoying this week along with her backup driver. The airways broke her gamer on the way to Ireland.
Even with out her driver, Van Dam managed to discover the placing floor in two within the playoff. However, earlier than she even tried her eagle effort from about 15 ft, Soenderby, who shot 62 to make the playoff, drained her eagle putt from exterior Van Dam. The 2019 European Solheim Cup member’s effort to prolong simply missed.
An extended week for Van Dam ends with two damaged drivers and a brutal runner-up end.
