They say the long bunker shot is the hardest shot in golf. And you know what? They are right.
Long bunker shots are basically impossible. Do you take a mighty cut and try to blast it or do you try to pick it clean? And if you pick it too clean, you might hit one 50 metres over the green. It’s tough. Which is what makes what Australia’s Scott Hend did overnight all the more remarkable.
Playing in the first round of the Asian Tour’s Saudi International, Hend found himself faced with one of those long bunker shots. Except, he wasn’t even in an actual bunker, but just what looks like a beach of clumpy, trampled on sand. Throw in some native vegetation that restricted his backswing. Oh, and toss in the fact that the Red Sea is right behind the green.
But even with all of that, the three-time European Tour winner managed to pull off a spectacular shot. Check it out:
https://twitter.com/asiantourgolf/status/1621145968677912581
Wow. These guys are good, huh? “That,” the announcer says, “that is the shot of the day.” No arguments here.
Unfortunately for Hend, there weren’t too many other great shots like that as the Queenslander opened with a two-over par 72. But even if Hend misses the cut this week, he could probably make a killing teaching others how to escape the sand like that. Well, trying to teach others. That was pretty special.
