MEMPHIS, TN – One golfer’s mistake cost him a title and a nice payday!
Lee Westwood won this past weekend’s St. Jude Classic and ended a 12-year title drought on the PGA Tour. His victory was a combination of his superb play all weekend and a nightmare finish by Robert Garrigus.
“Just shows you, don’t expect nothing in this game because you never know what’s going to happen next,” Westwood told reporters.
Garrigus has been on the Tour since 2006, but he’s never won. He’s only played in two majors – the 2004 and 2008 U.S. Opens – and miss the cut in both. He’s a very minuscule blip on the PGA radar and rarely makes headlines. His play this past weekend got him into the headlines for the wrong reasons.
This past Sunday, Garrigus was rolling and seemed poised to win his first major tournament. He was holding off well-established pros in Westwood and Robert Karlsson and all he had to do was stay composed and the trophy was his. He found himself on the tee at 18, the 72nd hole of the tournament, with a three-shot lead at -13. Even with all that in his favor, that first elusive trophy would end up slipping through his hands.
Garrigus drove his tee shot into the water lining the par-4 18th. With the penalty, he dropped and hit from behind the water. now lying 2. His third shot hit a tree and flew into the rough. He punched out with his fourth, and ended up on the green in five. One two-putt later, Garrigus found himself with a triple-bogey on the hole and in a sudden-death playoff with Westwood and Karlsson.
“I don’t even remember swinging on the 18th tee,” Garrigus said. “I felt like I handled everything great today … except for one swing.”
The agony would not stop there for Garrigus. The three men stepped to the 18th tee once again for the playoff and Garrigus unleashed a furious and exceptional 325-yard drive – that found its way behind a tree. He punched out and then chipped onto the green and faced a 12-foot putt to stay in the hunt. It just wasn’t in the cards and his putt failed to reach the bottom of the cup.
Westwood went onto win the tournament three playoff holes later and claim $1 million for winning. Garrigus’ winnings were cut in half by his bad shot to $492,800. Golf can be a very cruel game.
