David Puig (+6) had a day to forget this Sunday at the PGA Championship. He handed in a card of 79 strokes. Too much punishment for the golfer from La Garriga. He didn’t deserve to end a week like this, in which he showed grit and heart dealing with back discomfort that almost prevented him from playing the tournament. But golf cares little for poetic justice. Even more so in a Major. If you’re not on your game, it can destroy you.
Puig paid dearly for a horrible day from the tee. Terrifying. He didn’t hit the first fairway until the 11th hole. In total, there were three. Very few. Each shot either opened or closed too much and ended in trouble. The final blow came at the 18th tee. He played the shot exactly as he wanted, hoping for the wind from the left to help bring it back to the fairway, but it didn’t happen and ended up in the iconic creek that protects that entire flank of the hole. A cruel double bogey to finish. Summary of his day.
David fell far short of the goal of finishing among the top 12 in the tournament to secure his participation in the PGA next year. He couldn’t hide his disappointment. “When a couple of days pass, maybe I’ll start to see the positives of the week, but right now I’m really burned by this round. I haven’t hit a ball in the fairway, and it’s impossible on this course. Also, I had a bad day with short game.” A lethal combination at Quail Hollow. It was a painful farewell to the PGA, even more so than the back discomfort.
Puig closes his fifth Major with a very eventful week, making his third cut, overcoming very serious back discomfort, and once again showing that one day we will see him in the fight during one of these weeks. The next goal is to find out exactly what is wrong with his back to provide an immediate solution. He will dedicate the next week to this. The next step will be to play the US Open qualifier in Washington and compete in the next LIV Golf tournament.
