Is this the wildest scorecard in golf history?
IF Rory McIlroy thought he had consistency problems, he should spare a thought for Oliver Smith of Ashton on Mersey Golf Club. McIlroy struggled at a major again at last week’s USPGA, but that is nothing compared with what Smith went through at the same time, 9,910 miles away at the PGA Assistants’ Championship at Coxmoor, Nottinghamshire. In the par-four first hole of the first round, Smith took a nine. He followed that up with a bogey before rattling off five birdies in seven holes to make the turn in one over par in 36 strokes. He then made a hole in one at the par-three 10th. A rare par came next at the 11th and, despite starting with a quintuple bogey, Smith was one under par. A bogey followed at the 12th, but no disaster. That came next. On the par-five 13th, Smith took 11 strokes for a sextuple bogey. To cap it all off, Smith only dropped two shots in his final five holes to come back for a round of 79 — eight over. Playing partner Mathew Webb said he kept his sense of humour despite the chaos. ‘He’s a good lad, banter all the way,’ he said. ‘When he made the one he went wild. After the 11, I said, “I have not seen three 1s on a card before”.’