So what do you do when your tee shot ends up in the trees? One option is to have another go as Kevin Na did last week on the ninth hole in the first round of the Valero Texas Open. Unfortunately for Na, his second attempt wasn’t any better and ended up in pretty much the same place as the first. By the time he hacked his way back onto the fairway he was in double figures and by the time the ball was in the cup, he was 12 over par for that hole.
Sometimes your tee shot heads for the houses as it did for Rory McIlroy on his final 10th hole at the Masters. He took a triple bogey on that hole and it was the beginning of the end of his dream of a green jacket this year.
In 1998, it took John Daly 18 shots to get to the hole on the 6th at the Bay Hill Invitational, and six of those were into the water!
But according to the PGA Tour website (www.pgatour.com), the highest single-hole score in history goes to Tommy Armour for a 23 on the 17th hole at the Shawnee Open in 1927. Ray Ainsley is also attributed a 23 on the 16th at the U.S. Open in Cherry Hills in 1938, but other records indicate it was only a 19.
Some days all the practicing in the world is no match for bad luck!
