Patton Kizzire, on the par-4 18th at Caves Valley, hit his approach shot right of the green, it bounced on the downslope, then dropped into the water.
“It was going right at it,” someone shouted.
More than a ball would be lost.
Kizzire would drop, pitch to 4 feet and putt twice for a double-bogey 6 during Friday’s second round at the BMW Championship. He had torpedoed his scorecard: an even-par 72 on a day when only five of the 70 players in the field shot over par. He had torpedoed his standing in the PGA Tour’s playoffs: Kizzire entered the week 66th in the FedEx Cup standings, where only the top 30 move on to next week’s Tour Championship; after Friday, he was projected 70th, or last.
Then he exploded.
First, on his ball. As he reached for it from the hole, he dropped it in an attempt to hit it with his putter. They awkwardly connected — and the ball went over his head.
Next, he zeroed in on his putter. Off the green, Kizzire shut his eyes and dropped his club over his right knee, snapping it in two. Finally, came — his white hat.
Walking up to the scoring tent, on a path lined with spectators, Kizzire took his lid off and tried to rip it from the bill.
To recap, one lost ball, one lost round, one busted putter, one busted hat.
“It does boil up in you, Zing, and when things happen, you’re trying to vent somehow, someway,” announcer Dan Hicks said on the Golf Channel broadcast.
“That’s how we all feel,” analyst Paul Azinger said. “We feel like that every time what just happened to him happens. That’s how you feel on the inside. Whenever a guy doesn’t act like that, he’s in control.”
