The Loop
Steve Stricker just had one of the weirdest rounds of golf you'll ever see
TROON, Scotland -- Seventeen pars. In the cold. In the wind. In the rain.
If you'd asked Steve Stricker if he would've signed up for that before he teed off at Royal Troon in Friday afternoon's adverse conditions, he certainly would have headed back to his hotel. However, he couldn't have imagined just how badly his one bad hole would turn out.
Stricker arrived on the 15th tee at four under par at the 145th Open Championship. His 14 consecutive pars to that point had moved the rejuvenated 49-year-old golfer up to T-6. And then, disaster struck.
Stricker hit his tee shot into the high stuff. He hit a provisional into the high stuff. Then basically everyone at Royal Troon helped him look for his golf balls:
Eventually, his second ball was found. He hacked his fourth shot out, missed the green with his fifth and then failed to get up and down. The final damage? The dreaded snowman -- a quadruple-bogey 8. Just look at that scorecard!
Even with his one big blemish, Stricker's 75 still put him at even par through 36 holes, four shots inside the cut line. He'll have an earlier tee time on Saturday than he would have liked, but on the bright side, the weather forecast looks a lot better.