Pro carelessly breaks rule twice, loses 4 balls — and may have won the weekend
Julien Brun hits his tee shot on Thursday on the 3rd hole at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.
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“I sucked.”
Yeah, he kinda did. Since Julien Brun said it himself, that gives us some license to go ahead and confirm it.
Hopes had been high for the 31-year-old Frenchman on Saturday at the DP World Tour’s Italian Open. He had opened with an even-par 71 during the first round at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, home of this year’s Ryder Cup, then followed it up with a 70, and Brun had weekend tee times. He even posted some encouraging words on an Instagram post: “Blue vibes in Italy. Let’s move up the board this weekend!”
(Hold onto the thought of Instagram for just a sec.)
But then Saturday came. And things started disastrously. And they didn’t stop. The former star at Texas Christian bogeyed 1. And 4. And 6 and 7. And he double-bogeyed 11. And 12 and 14. And he bogeyed 15 and 17. Brun actually birdied three holes, but the bad far outweighed the good, and he signed for a 12-over 83.
There’s more.
As you’d expect, those bogeys and doubles were unsightly.
On the 1st, Brun was hit with a penalty stroke for lifting his ball and trying to clean it. On Thursday and Friday, the move had been allowed, so the careless mistake was at least understandable.
Only then he did it again, five holes later.
There’s more.
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On the 8th, Brun hit his tee shot into the water. On the 11th, he hit another tee shot into the water. On the 12th, he lost his tee shot. On the 14th, he hit his tee shot out of bounds.
There’s more.
On the 11th, Brun missed a 2-footer. On the 12th, he missed a 5-footer. On the 17th, he missed another 5-footer.
There’s more. Much more. This is actually the best part.
We know all these details because Brun said them himself.
Back to his Instagram.
On Saturday, he posted this story (and the DP World Tour shared it on their social feeds):
“83 today! I sucked! [Laughing emoji.]
“2 penalty strokes for lifting the ball on the fairway … did it twice on my first 6 holes. [Laughing emoji.] Lost 4 balls (3 holes in a row … [Shrug emoji.])
“Missed 3 putts inside 5ft
“But laughed a lot out there and I am looking forward to my 7:10 am tee time tomorrow to play some good golf tomorrow!
“Enjoy Golf! [Laughing emoji.]”
Indeed.
Yes, this is great. After his missive, you can say he may have just won the weekend — after an 83. There’s not taking yourself too seriously. There’s flushing away the bad. There’s bouncing back.
Which he did.
On Sunday, Brun was back at it. He was eight strokes better, though a 75 isn’t all that great. But he posted again to his Instagram story.
“We improved today!
“No penalties.”
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