SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFP) -- Korean-American Kevin Na endured a nightmare ninth in the Texas Open, setting a PGA Tour record-worst with a 16 on the par-4 hole.
Na‘s Thursday woes included an unplayable lie from the tee, a two-stroke penalty after the ball bounced off a tree and hit him, and five straight shots from a thicket.
“I got done with the hole and I said (to my caddie), ’I think I made somewhere between a 10 and a 15,‘” Na said. “But I think it’s close to a 15.”
After completing the first round, Na watched a video replay before signing his scorecard and confirmed it was, in fact, 16 strokes.
He signed for an eight-over par 80 for the first round.
The worst single-hole score at a PGA Tour event belongs to John Daly, who in 1998 had an 18 on the par-5 sixth hole at Bay Hill.
Ray Ainsley required 19 shots on the par-4 16th hole at Cherry Hills in the 1938 US Open, a tournament organized by the U.S. Golf Association rather than the PGA Tour.
Kevin Na looks at his lie on the eighth hole during the first round of the Texas Open golf tournament in San Antonio, San Antonio on Thursday. (AP-Yonhap News)
Na‘s ordeal took nearly 20 minutes. Australians Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy waiting to tee off in the group behind, could only wait.
“It’s all a blur,” said Na, who could only smile by the time he holed a six-footer.
What Na does remember is a tee shot into the woods. With an unplayable lie, he went back to the tee, but the results were little better.
He came up with air on one stroke, attempted two left-handed shots and made one shot that advanced the ball just inches.
“One bad hole can basically shoot you out of the tournament,” Na said. “That‘s what I just did.”