Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald hit out at the US Golf Association [USGA] after leading amateur Gordon Sargent saw a putt at the US Open surprisingly bounce out of the hole.
Sargent’s two-foot par attempt on the 18th hole of Sunday’s final round was perfectly hit in the center of the cup but bounced off the green.
The 20-year-old was still guaranteed to finish as the top amateur after a 69 that left him four over par, but European Ryder Cup captain Donald was unimpressed with tournament organizers .
“This is unacceptable! Will the @USGA fix this mid round? This should never happen,” Donald wrote on Twitter.
Donald was far from the only one shocked by what he saw on the 18th green. Former Masters winner and broadcast analyst Trevor Immelman wondered if the cut was “not deep enough on the 18th?”, while former Ryder Cup player and six-time PGA Tour winner Hunter Mahan asked, “What happened to Sargent????? How could this have happened?!”
Mahan also asked what “if it costs anyone in the final group???”, with Sargent reaching the final hole hours before the leaders arrived.
The USGA said the bizarre situation was caused by the hole being damaged by a player or caddy from the previous group of Ryan Gerard and Mackenzie Hughes. The group would have struggled to get the flagstick out of the hole, and the extra force would likely have dislodged the cup which caused a lip to emerge – which Sargent’s ball then bounced off.
A USGA spokesperson said, “A member of the front band inadvertently adjusted the hole liner during flag removal. Unfortunately, we were not informed of any damage. It has since been reinstated. »
Luckily, the extra hit didn’t impact Sargent, who still finished as the lowest amateur and didn’t miss any prizes as only professionals are allowed to withdraw winnings from the majors.
“You probably saw what happened on the 18th,” Sargent said after his round. “I had like a two and a half foot footer straight up the hill that hit the bottom of the hole and just bounced me off. I haven’t seen this happen in a while, but sometimes that’s how it is.
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