How Low Can You Go?
Michigan pro fires 17-under 55 in craziest round of his life (and he could have gone even lower)
Meet Andrew Ruthkowski. Ruthkowski is a regular fella from Muskegon, Michigan who just so happens to have logged a very irregular round of golf.
A 17-under 55 to be specific.
It’s a scorecard that defies belief, but as The Detroit News reports, it’s as real as the ground on which you walk (don’t start with that matrix stuff, folks). Ruthkowski, a local pro from western Michigan, apparently went low at Oak Ridge Country Club while playing with his twin stepdaughters. He had previously set the Oak Ridge course record back in 2012 with a round of 11 under, which he matched ON THE FRONT NINE.
Photo by Andrew Ruthkowski
That’s where Ruthkowski fired four eagles, three birdies (including a near ace at the par-3 second), and two pars. After the sixth hole, around 8:45 p.m., Ruthkowski’s stepdaughters had to return their cart to the clubhouse, but Ruthokowski’s friend, who owns a house and his own cart along the course, told him not to stop playing and rode with him the rest of the way.
At the par-3 14th he hit it to four feet. At the short par-4 15th he nearly jarred a 30-yard chip for eagle. At the par-4 17th, he hit the flagstick with his approach. On the 18th, with OB looming left, Ruthkowski purposely hit it right onto the in-bounds driving range and hit a 205-yard 5 iron to 15 feet. He lagged it a foot short of the hole and tapped in for birdie and a 55.
Photo by Andrew Ruthkowski
Ruthkowski’s incredible round wrapped up just shy of 10 p.m., playing the back nine in around an hour.