The Loop
U.S. Open 2020: This is guaranteed to be the worst shot you'll see at Winged Foot all week
Golf Digest Digital Editorial Director Sam Weinman recently was brave enough to play three holes from the tips at Winged Foot—site of this week's U.S. Open—with the cameras rolling. Not surprisingly, it was ugly. In particular a chunked pitch shot on the second hole that we would advise none of those competing in the tournament to watch. Ever. Just absolutely nightmarish stuff.
But incredibly, Sam might be off the hook when it comes to hitting the worst shot at Winged Foot this month. Even more incredible is that the new person holding this unofficial title is a PGA Tour pro.
Mark Hubbard is making his U.S. debut this week and he certainly looked like someone with rookie jitters as he played the iconic par-3 10th hole during a Wednesday practice round. Check out this total top that unfortunately for him—but fortunately, for us—was captured on camera:
Woof. The difficult Winged Foot is known as a "second-shot golf course," but we're pretty sure A.W. Tillinghast didn't envision golfers playing their second shot from right in front of the tee box.
To Hubbard's credit, he gave a couple fantastic responses, first when it happened while those around him giggled, and then when the video got back to him on Wednesday night.
LOL "Locked and loaded." And hey, maybe he is. After all, Billy Casper won the 1959 U.S. Open by famously laying up on the par-3 third all four rounds and making par. Perhaps, Hubbard wanted a more comfortable number for his approach.
And then, of course, there's the possibility this was just a big hoax. After all, this wasn't some Golf Digest hack (Sorry, Sam), but someone who plays the game for a living. As one commenter on the video said, Hubbard can hit tops on command. So if that's all this was, he looks to be in great form.