PGA Tour star “punched in face” as 18th hole collapse costs him £1.27m

Thomas Detry was leading the Farmers Insurance Open with just one hole remaining in his third round before a double bogey saw his chances of winning the top prize fizzle out

After his Farmers Insurance Open challenge was ruined by an 18th hole collapse, Thomas Detry said he “got punched in the face.”

With one hole left in his penultimate round, the Belgian golfer was leading the PGA Tour event. On the Par 5, he made what CBS Sports commentators referred to as the “Drive of the Day.”

However, he saw his third shot backspin from the back of the green and into the water after deciding to lay up. In the end, he produced a double bogey seven. It made sure he lost the lead, and with a +2 final round, his hopes of winning and taking home the $1.62 million (£1.27 million) top prize evaporated.

Following his dribble finish in the penultimate round, Detry said, “I hit an amazing drive; I drove it great on 18.” I was only in the middle of a 3-wood, hybrid.

“What a long day it has been. We played for, I believe, five hours and forty-five minutes. I had some mud on the ball, the lie wasn’t perfect, and the light was beginning to fade.

There were a few distinct factors working against us. Clearly, short is unacceptable.

“We made the wise decision, and now look, I got punched in the face.”

In the final round on Saturday, Detry expressed his confidence that he could bounce back and challenge for the win. Those dreams were dashed when he tied for 20th place and received $119,250 as opposed to Mattieu Pavon’s $1.62 million victory.

“It’s really difficult, to be honest,” Detry remarked following his third round. Even though I think I’m doing everything correctly and have been working on a lot of mental health issues, it still seems to happen.

It’s really difficult, but looking back, I accomplished a lot today. I was patient even though I made some mistakes. I made some excellent birdies as I neared the finish line. These final two holes are challenging. I had excellent ball driving and made some nice putts to make birdie.

Yes, I suppose I just need to confront hardship and attempt to learn from it once more. There are more practical lessons that you can take away from it, you know. Yes, I thought I had played the last few holes perfectly, but it didn’t pay off, even though it was an expensive hole.