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Tim Hart loses chance at 58(!) and a win with triple bogey on final hole
On the first official day of spring in 2016, we already have the craziest round of the year. And it's not even close.
There's a good chance you've never heard of Tim Hart, currently No. 918 in the Official World Golf Ranking. But we're pretty sure the Aussie just did something that's never been done in the history of golf. Standing on the final hole at the Coca-Cola Queensland PGA, Hart not only had his first PGA Tour of Australasia title within his reach, but also a glorious chance to break 60. Unfortunately, neither happened.
Hart hit his drive out-of-bounds left on No. 18 at Toowoomba's City Golf Club. Incredibly, though, he still had a chance at both milestones until his second drive went right and into the trees. The resulting triple bogey forced him to settle for a 61 and dropped him into a playoff, which he eventually lost to David Klein.
“It was a rollercoaster . . . after hitting the driver so well I put the worst swing of the week on it right there,” Hart, 26, told reporters after the round.
If by "rollercoaster" Hart meant an exhilarating ride all the way to the top of the world's tallest rollercoaster before one swift fall, then yes, it was a rollercoaster. Check out this incredible scorecard for his back nine in which he was nine under through eight holes (After a 30 on the par-33 front nine) before the disastrous finish:
Hart needed a par for 58, just a bogey for 59. A birdie would have given him a 57! But the stunning triple bogey left him with what has to be the all-time most disappointing 61 in pro golf.
“I just wanted to stay aggressive because I hadn’t seen a leaderboard and wanted to keep pushing," said Hart, who wasn't thinking much about breaking 60.
OK. . .
“If I’d known I was three or four shots in front maybe the two iron comes out.”
Ouch.
But how's this for perspective?
“Mate, it’s easy to be disappointed but if someone had said I’d be in a play-off for the title when starting the day 20th I would have grabbed it," he said.