This time, the green was clear.
The fairway on the par-4 7th hole at TPC Summerlin extends straight out about 270 yards before doglegging a bit left to complete its 380-or-so-yard journey. Since 2003, golfers at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open have putted on the green without worry while golfers behind them have teed off. Until Thursday. For the past 17 years, those golfers on the tee box have mostly either played it straight or played it slightly left to right. Until Thursday.
One day after he became the first player to drive the 7th green at the Shriners since tracking began, in 2003, Bryson DeChambeau did it again during Friday’s second round. Both days, he aimed slightly left and carried trees and two greenside bunkers before his ball rolled up onto the green. On Thursday, his ball rolled next to Chesson Hadley, Carlos Ortiz and Wyndham Clark, the grouping that was playing ahead of DeChambeau.
On Friday, Hadley, Ortiz and Clark were onto the 8th hole when DeChambeau hit.
“Wow,” said one announcer on the PGA Tour Live broadcast of DeChambeau’s drive.
“I mean, that’s just stupid,” another announcer said.
On Thursday, the 7th was playing 381 yards, DeChambeau drove it 361, and he was left with 14 feet for eagle. He missed it. On Friday, the hole was playing one yard shorter, DeChambeau drove it 12 yards longer, and he was left with 12 more feet for eagle. He made it.
When he drove the green during the first round, DeChambeau said he didn’t know anyone was on it. His ball was not blocked by the trees. But his eyes were.
“You know, I felt incredibly bad about that – I had no idea that they were on the green,” DeChambeau said Thursday. “They were ahead of us all day, and I felt like they were off the green on 7 because of the time that we took on a few of the holes before that.
“So that was my mistake and I felt really bad. I think it was Chesson. I got to go find him and apologize. It was fun to hit it to 15 feet.”
