‘It’s a wee bit nippy’: Scottish Open conditions lead to … a 226-yard pitching wedge?

Two boys, wearing matching red caps and blue jackets, may have summed up the proceedings best, and in just nine words. They had been posted up to the right of a path at the Renaissance Club when Justin Thomas passed by, with the short interaction captured by the DP World Tour’s social media team. 

“Welcome to Scotland, Justin.”

“It’s a wee bit nippy.”

To which Thomas confirmed: “Just a little bit.” 

Indeed. Just a wee bit. Just a little bit. 

They had been forecasting as much at the Scottish Open, where final-round tee times were pushed up some five hours in order to avoid the worst of what was supposed to be a breezy Sunday alongside the Firth of Forth. The worst. The fans were still turned on, and the golf balls reacted in kind.  

Consider:

— There was the opening drive of U.S Open winner Wyndham Clark, which traveled 384 yards. 

— There was the drive of eventual winner Rory McIlroy on the 7th hole, which traveled 427 yards, his longest poke of the season by 40 yards. 

— There was the hat of Viktor Hovland, which traveled backward at one point after flying off his head. 

And then there was this. 

On his first hole of the day, the 580-yard, par-5 10th, Min Woo Lee pumped his tee shot 351 yards. That was good. But this was better. He got home in two. 

With a 226-yard shot. 

Hit with a pitching wedge. 

A. Pitching. Wedge. 

Said an announcer on the Sky Sports broadcast ahead of the shot: “Let’s see how close he can get this to the green. 225, that was a pitching wed …”

He had paused. 

Said the announcer when the shot landed: “This is ridiculous. Look at this. That is absolutely insane.” 

Said a second announcer: “That’s unbelievable.”

On the shot, Lee’s ball landed about 30 yards short of the green, bounced, bounced again and rolled to about 15 feet. From there, he two-putted for a birdie four, and he finished with an even-par 70 and in a tie for 35th. 

“That was a pitching wedge, off an upslope, 225,” the first announcer said.  

“Oh dear. I have no words,” the second announcer said.