Tiny crab causes big worries for Bubba
TWO-TIME Masters champion Bubba Watson had some major issues with a tiny crab in yesterday’s third round of the US PGA RBC Heritage as topranked Rory McIlroy could only watch.
The bizarre situation came at the par-3 17th hole at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, in the US tour’s second event after ending a threemonth coronavirus shutdown last week.
Watson blasted his tee shot into a greenside bunker, but when he arrived to check out the ball, he found a tiny crab had crawled under it. McIlroy, a four-time major winner from Northern Ireland, and Watson were in a featured pairing at the event, meaning tour television cameras were watching the entire situation as Watson pondered his options.
They included blasting the ball out with the tiny crustacean lurking in the sand beneath it and facing animal cruelty complaints.
“I don’t want the world to get mad at me, know what I mean?” Watson told McIlroy as the European star stuck the top of his putter near the ball to try and distract the crab.
Watson called for a rules official but as he approached, the crab flipped out from beneath the ball, landing a few centimetres away and moving off and eventually crawling away.
“There was a camera and people get mad if I hit an animal,” Watson told the official to explain the problem that had resolved itself.
Watson, 41, eventually blasted out to 17 feet but missed his par putt and took his last of four bogeys in a twoover par 73 round to stand on three-under 210 for 54 holes, sharing 70th. McIlroy two-putted for par after the crab distraction, then birdied 18 to shoot 66 and stand on 203.
There was a four-way tie for the lead going into this morning’s final round.
Tyrrell Hatton carded one of six rounds of 63 on the day, giving the 28-year-old a chance at back-to-back wins — albeit three months apart.
Webb Simpson practically had to apologise for a threeunder 68, in which he managed just one birdie on the back nine to be one of four coleaders after three rounds.
Abraham Ancer had a 65 and Ryan Palmer a 66 to round out the quartet.