What could be worse than breaking an embarrassing record in your Web.com Tour debut? Having your own dad on hand to bust your chops about it.
On Thursday, we brought you the story of Ben DeArmond, a club pro who went into the Web.com Tour record books by making a 17 on the second hole of Lakewood National Golf Club during the opening round of the Lecom Suncoast Classic. DeArmond, who is in the field this week on a sponsor exemption, took seven tee shots just to put his golf ball in play on the par 4 and wound up shooting 13 over par on the hole. THIRTEEN over par on one hole! Seriously, here's proof:
DeArmond's disaster topped (if that's the right word) the previous mark for worst score on a hole, which was a 15 by Greg Eason at the 2017 Great Abaco Classic. It also instantly led to comparisons to the meltdown by fictional character Roy McAvoy, played by Kevin Costner in the 1996 movie Tin Cup. Unfortunately for DeArmond, his dad is familiar with the flick. And he was following him in the crowd.
"My own dad called me Roy a couple of holes later, so he referenced Roy McAvoy," DeArmond told reporters in Florida after his round. "I couldn't get it up in the air even with a 5-iron, so I'm not used to that. Just went a little numb. But we got through it, had a good back nine. So I'll be back tomorrow."
Dad dagger alert! Love it. And love how DeArmond handled the entire situation. After shooting a 54 on the front nine (Again, a SEVENTEEN doesn't help matters), the head pro at TPC Treviso Bay in Naples carded a very respectable 37 on the back.
"If you learn anything from me today, it's don't withdraw, don't give up, have fun with it," DeArmond said. "It's a game. Everybody has a bad day, a bad hole -- even the worst hole of your life. So you have to move on."
Good job, Ben. And good job, dad. Your motivational tactics worked.
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