When Pros go Bad - Worst ever single-hole scores in Golf - 19th Hole Golf Blog by Your Golf Travel

I imagine a fair few of you would have been glued to the action at the Doral Resort and its Blue Monster Course over the weekend? Although we got a British winner in Justin Rose and yet another solid performance from Rory McIlroy – despite jet setting all over the USA to see his girlfriend and to win a quick point against Maria Sharapova! – the main talking point is still Tiger Woods and his decision to withdraw following pain in his Achilles but, unlike all other golf media sources we are just going to breeze straight past that and talk about the real highlights of the week…Sergio Garcia’s trials and tribulations!

Poor old Serg looked in good nick during the 1^st round only to follow his sparkling outward nine of 31 with a weekend hacker like 44 coming in! The Spaniard continued to plug along but during the final round things got really ropey! Despite making five birdies and an eagle, Garcia closed with a 76 which was all thanks to an ugly 12 on the par 4 3^rd!

The Blue Monster features plenty of water so it’s no wonder an imploding Garcia was able to run up such a high number!

This got us thinking…what are the worst ever single-hole scores by professional golfers on the European and PGA Tours? Well after a little research we have a few examples of the kinds of incidences that should go some way reassuring us run of the mill, everyday, average Joe Bloggs weekend hackers!

John Daly – 1998 Bay Hill Invitational

We all know Daly, a.k.a ‘The Wildthing’, has the propensity to do some silly things on and off the golf course. This was recently highlighted by the big man walking off the course after running out of balls (he hit 6 or 7 into the water on the same hole) at the 2011 Australian Open but, had he putted out, that still wouldn’t have been enough to challenge his impressive 18 at the 1998 Bay Hill Invitational!

Gary McCord – 1986 St. Jude Classic

Gary McCord, known more for his stupid facial hair and being banned from Augusta National and The Masters, now works as a golf commentator but in the past he was a touring pro on the PGA Tour. After hitting 5 balls into the water at the par 5 16^th during the 1986 St Jude Classic McCord finally realised he had been hitting a 4 iron when he thought he had a 3 in his hands! He found the green at the first time of asking once he had clubbed up and sank a 25 footer for a gutsy 16!

Kevin Na – 2011 Texas Valero Open

Speaking of 16s…

Last year Kevin Na blocked his tee shot on the 9^th hole of the Texas Valero Open into some seriously thick brush but rather than reload on the tee he stubbornly proceeded to pay his ball where it laid…the rest as they say is history. The rare feat – a duodecuple bogey, or 12 over par – came after, among other misfortunes, an unplayable lie from his tee shot and a two-stroke penalty incurred after his ball hit a tree and rebounded onto him.

Kevin Na and his “16 heard around the world”

Initially scored as a 15 then changed on review, it was the worst score on a par-four hole in PGA Tour history and, to make matters worse, Na was wearing a microphone for the Golf Channel so his frustrations were broadcast for all to hear.

Chris Gane – 2003 Diageo Championships

During the 2003 Diageo Championship the weather was at its most brutal as high winds buffeted the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles making scoring somewhat tricky. However despite the weather it is tough to comprehend just how the relatively unknown Chris Gain managed a 17 at the par 5 18^th. It is understandable to run up a number like that on a course with water at every turn but the 18^th on the PGA Centenary is a relatively straight forward hole!

Tommy Armour – 1927 Shawnee Open

Although this happened quite some time ago when, let’s face it, the pros were playing a completely different game than today, carding a 23 on a single hole is an impressive feat. Although many weekend hackers who couldn’t hit a barn door with a banjo would rarely run up such a score that is exactly what Tommy Armour did at the 1927 Shawnee Open. Now you might be mistaken for thinking Armour was just another journeyman pro but the week before his 23 he had won the US Open!