Every once in a while, someone makes a big, ugly number in a golf tournament. In Thursday's first round of the inaugural Lecom Suncoast Classic on the Web.com Tour, that guy was local PGA professional Ben DeArmond, who made a 13-over score of 17 on a par 4 in his second hole of the tournament.
Playing at Lakewood National Golf Club in the Sarasota area of Florida, DeArmond hit six tee shots into the water guarding the right side of arguably the most difficult hole on the golf course. That's right: Six balls in the water. They weren't all from the tee. After the initial tee shot, DeArmond dropped into the rough four times and went back to the tee box to rehit somewhere in the middle.
With his seventh ball on the hole, and his 13th shot on the hole, DeArmond hit a shot that managed to stay dry. He then hit two shots from the fairway up toward the green. With his 15th shot, he found the fringe. With his 16th shot, his chip got close enough so that he could hole his putt for a 17.
Here's a breakdown, shot-by-shot of DeArmond's tredecuple-bogey 17:
- Shot 1: Drive in water
- Shot 2: Penalty after drop
- Shot 3: From rough into water
- Shot 4: Penalty after drop
- Shot 5: From rough into water
- Shot 6: Penalty after drop
- Shot 7: Return to the tee box, drive in water
- Shot 8: Penalty after drop
- Shot 9: From rough into water
- Shot 10: Penalty after drop
- Shot 11: From rough into water
- Shot 12: Penalty after drop
- Shot 13: From rough into fairway
- Shot 14: From fairway
- Shot 15: From fairway
- Shot 16: From the fringe
- Shot 17: Putt in the hole
Naturally, DeArmond found it hard to recover from there, but he did manage to play four of the next five holes in 4 over. Then, he started settling down and making some pars.
In less than 10 minutes SFPGA Professional Ben DeArmond will tee off in the @lecomsuncoastclassis @WebDotComTour event at Lakewood National Golf Club! We wish him the best! Follow along at - https://t.co/ySDCgvMKRl pic.twitter.com/uqa9xRSseF
— South Florida PGA (@southfloridapga) February 14, 2019
Obviously, making the cut is not in the cards for DeArmond this week. However, he has to be commended for continuing to play, not pulling a Sergio or getting disqualified so he could go hide somewhere. Most every golfer has been through the same situation in competition, making a huge number that absolutely dooms a tournament before it really gets going. We stand with you, Ben. Put up a good one tomorrow.
