Missing a short putt can leave scar tissue — just ask Rory McIlroy — but it happens to the best of us. What’s worse is to miss the ball completely. That’s what happened to British pro Paul Broadhurst, 58, during the first round of the British Senior Open at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland.
“I had a fresh air putt,” said the winner of the 2016 Senior Open after the round.
That’s never a good thing. Broadhurst’s first putt came up inches short at the seventh hole and when he went to tap-in, he whiffed.
“I sort of pulled out of it but the putter passed over the ball and went past it,” he explained. “I checked with the referee. I made a legitimate attempt at it. I sort of went back and didn’t get to the ball. ”
How did he miss?
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He marked a double-bogey six on the card and proceeded to bogey the ninth and could feel the round slipping away. But he rallied to come home in 31, making a birdie at No. 10 that seemed to right the ship, birdies both of the par 5’s at Nos. 12 and 14 and closed with back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18 to shoot 69.
Most golfers would have been mentally broken by missing from inches away but Broadhurst found a way to overcome the gaffe. Still, this will be shown on blooper reels for years to come.