Patrick Reed will be playing on the weekend at the US Open, but he’s going to need to find a replacement wedge after he broke his on the 18th hole late in the second round at Pebble Beach.
OK, we’re burying the lead. He didn’t just break the club. He snapped it over his knee in a frustrating fit of angst that would have made Nick Kyrgios proud.
Before we give you the visual payoff, let’s set things up. The former Masters champion looked like he was going to make the cut at Pebble Beach as he headed to the 18th hole. He was even-par for the championship, with the cut line at two-over par. A double-bogey would be enough to survive and advance. He seemed pretty safe.
But then the fun began. Reed’s tee shot found the right rough, 225 metres from the hole. He proceeded to hit his second shot only 130 metres, into the left bunker that runs next to the the seawall along the Pacific Ocean. OK, no big deal. Hit it on the green, two putt and have a nice dinner.
Reed’s third shot, however, scuttled over the green into the thick gnarly rough. Trying to hit a flop shot on to the green to a front-right hole location, Reed proceeded to hit his fourth shot back across the green into more thick rough.
Then with his fifth shot, he flubbed a chip, leaving the ball in the rough again.
And that’s when Reed did this:
https://twitter.com/GolfonFOX/status/1139720218060578816
Give the man some credit. It was one fluid motion and the club quickly split in half. (Almost like he’d done this before.) The small crowd around the 18th let out a shocking gasp. Reed now had to somehow get his ball up and down to save double-bogey and make the cut. Plus he had to do it without his most lofted club.
To the man’s credit, he steadied himself and hit his sixth to just outside two feet, and then rolled in the putt. With a wry smile, he shook the hands of the other two players in his threesome, went off and signed his scorecard. He had his double-bogey, he was playing on the weekend and, well, he had a hell of a story to tell.