Misjudging the speed of a green is easy to do, for recreational players and pros alike. But when you add wind and slope, things become even more difficult.
DP World Tour player Connor Syme likely understands that better than most. On Friday, in a shocking example of a misjudged putt, Syme’s birdie attempt ended up turning into a nightmare blow-up.
During the second round of the Scottish Championship, which is being played at Trump International Golf Links, gusty conditions made scoring especially challenging. On the par-5 1st hole, Syme hit his third shot to the back edge of the green and faced a 54-foot downhill, downwind birdie putt.
Syme’s putt passed the hole with speed, and kept going. And going. When the ball slowed toward the edge of the front of the green, it caught another slope and bulleted onward, ultimately coming to rest in the fairway 47 yards from the hole.
“Goodness me!” said a broadcaster. “That is unbelievable what I’ve just seen there.”
“Back on the tee in a minute,” another quipped.
“That’s a very silent walk down there,” the other responded.
Syme’s initial putt was extremely difficult, needing enough speed to travel up a slope and then back down to the hole. The contoured green and a strong gust of wind contributed to Syme’s unfortunate situation.
“Some of these shots you’re left with are incredibly tough,” a broadcaster said.
Syme’s birdie putt ended up 65 yards from his starting point. He hit his fifth shot onto the green, but faced another lengthy lag of 43 feet for bogey. He ultimately three-putted for a triple bogey. After his round, he discussed his difficulties on the first hole.
“My third shot — I actually don’t think I played that bad a shot, just got though the wind a little bit and ended up over the back of the green,” he said. “Obviously, you can see from the conditions, it’s just so gusty, and I was just the wrong side of the hole. A little bit too much pace over the slope and there’s just nothing to stop it. Down the slope it was.”
After posting rounds of 72-79 (+7), Syme missed the cut by three shots.
“Not exactly how you want to start your day,” Syme said. “That’s golf sometimes.”