Stenson’s wreck opens door
Snowman on 18 erases big lead
Henrik Stenson has now stripped down to his underwear on the golf course during a PGA Tour event twice. Only one of them was on purpose.
Thursday in the first round of the Masters — unlike the conscious decision to doff his yellow shirt and white trousers to wade into the muck after his golf ball at Doral in 2009 — it was only in the figurative sense that the big Swede was undressed by the 18th hole at the Augusta National Golf Club.
But it was a lot more embarrassing.
Leading by three shots with three to play, Stenson gave one back at the 16th, but saved the real shenanigans for the finale, where he scuffed, hacked, and threewhacked his way to a quadruple-bogey eight, tying the highest score ever made at Augusta’s closing hole.
On the bright side, he didn’t break any clubs. He did that at the U.S. Open last year, snapping the shaft of an iron and cutting his hand.
“I do have a temper, but I need my clubs tomorrow,” Stenson said.
been six, but for a couple of makable putts missed.
Also happy: Oosthuizen, who birdied the last two for his 68, and another former Open Championship winner, Paul Lawrie, the 1999 champion golfer of the year at Carnoustie, whose 69 Thursday included eagles at both par-5s on the back nine, and put him in a mob of players tied at 3-under.
Stenson, however, stole the show, which isn’t easy to do considering he ended up four shots off the pace.
“It wasn’t that stable the whole day,” admitted Stenson. “I mean, I had made two great eagles, hit some great second shots and made a putt on two par-5s on the front nine, and I even chipped in once for par — but after No. 11 I didn’t hit one fairway off the tee, and playing out of the forest most of the back nine, it’s going to cost you sooner or later. Even though I didn’t expect it to cost as much as it did on 18.”