Former NCAA champ Pieters snaps after late flub

26-year-old golfer tossses his putter, then breaks driver

AUGUSTA, GA. — Thomas Pieters runs hot and cold. Or, more accurately, volcanic and cold.

So it wasn’t terribly surprising to see the former NCAA champi- on from Illinois toss his putter Friday after he missed a 13-foot par putt on No. 17. But what came next … oh, boy. Pieters snapped a drive on the home hole, missing it well left. And then he snapped the driver over his knee. The sound was unmistakable.

“Did he really do that?” one observer asked another.

“Must have been last year’s model,” came the reply.

Pieters still managed to make par thanks to a superb bunker shot where he aimed sideways to the pin. But that was no consolation for a man who missed the cut by shooting 73-78. “Terrible day,” he said. Few saw Pieters split his driver; he wasn’t in a featured group. Even fewer (only the Chicago Tribune) asked him about it. To Pieters’ credit, he answered all the questions.

At 26, Pieters already has three victories on the European Tour. The native of Belgium led the Europeans in the 2016 Ryder Cup, scoring four points, and tied for fourth at the 2017 Masters.

He’s known for more than his skill and size (6 feet 5), though. Pieters snapped a club over his knee at the 2016 British Open and left the remains in a bush. On the flip side, his fire helped him deal with the snarling Ryder Cup crowds in Minnesota.

Pieters believes his temperamental nature mainly has helped his game: “I didn’t get to what, No. 23 in the world, by not being that. It’s part of me. I get mad but, like you said, it fuels me. Sometimes it doesn’t, and I have to watch out for that.”

I asked Pieters whether he knows about Bo Jackson.

He does, and he chuckled at the comparison of Jackson breaking a baseball bat over his leg.

Going big picture, he said of his game: “I haven’t played well this year. Been hitting it well but not making any putts. The missing link.”