Ewen Ferguson, facing a 50-footer on Sunday on the 1st green at Le Golf National, understood the circumstances. He had described them a day earlier.
There would be “a different kind of pressure,” he said. Ferguson would start the final round at the DP World Tour’s Cazoo Open de France tied for the lead. The 27-year-old from Scotland would be seeking his third DP World Tour victory.
And then there was Le Golf National.
“I think you could easily rack up quite a big number, with not that bad a golf shot,” Ferguson said. “You sometimes need to accept that 30 feet is a birdie chance out here, it’s a difficult course.
“Like on 15 and 1, where you’re trying to make a longer putt. We did a pretty good job of that today and hopefully do the same thing tomorrow.”
And then came that 1st.
Off the tee, he found the rough. From the rough, he found the green. There, Ferguson did find a longer putt; he was 50 feet out. He putted.
His ball missed to the left. It didn’t stop.
“Steady,” the announcer on the broadcast said.
“Steady,” he repeated.
It wasn’t.
It dropped into the water left of the green. Ferguson had done the unthinkable on his day’s first putt.
“You know, this is how easy it is to putt it into the water,” the announcer said on the broadcast. “I can’t believe what I’ve seen.”
“That is unbelievable,” another announcer said.
Ferguson grimaced. It was painful. He took a penalty stroke and dropped. He two-putted and finished with a double-bogey six. But there was more. On the next hole, the 163-yard, par-3 2nd, he hit his tee shot into the water. He double-bogeyed again. And his chances to win were dealt a blow.
He had racked up big numbers.
