We’re not going to discover at this point how important a span can be in golf. On a green, it’s obvious, it’s about sinking a putt or missing it even in a resounding way. In a flag shot, the difference can be from leaving it two meters for birdie to eating a bunker. And on a fairway, a span to the right is perfect and another to the left is drama. How life changes from being in the first cut of rough to being swallowed by the zoysia of Valhalla. Of this, David Puig (+1) can give a talk today, who has started the PGA Championship with a card of 72 strokes.
The practical case of what we are telling you happened on hole 15. Puig was at a good trot at that time. He had made birdie on 10, two simple pars on 11 and 12, a good birdie option escaped him on 13 and on 14 he pulled off a par of great merit. He was on the up. Well, on 15 he hit a great drive, one of those that satisfy the young golfer from La Garriga, although with the bad luck that he has gone off the fairway by a meter on the left, no more. In fact, he was a span from the first cut, but the ball has sunk. It has been horrible. He was just over 100 meters from the flag…
So, by a span he has gone from having a very good opportunity to leave a notable birdie option to suffering to get the par. He has hit as he could from the thicket, with bad luck, two in the same hole, that the ball has ended up entering the tiny bunker that protects this green and has been horrendous. Puig, with a very uncomfortable stance, one leg higher than the other, has done what he could to get it out, but it has not come out at the first attempt. Yes at the second, two putts and double bogey. Yes, they are the old accounts, but if we convert that double bogey into par, at least, we would be talking about a round under par. They are those small details.
Puig was hurt not to play under par today at Valhalla as he has performed. The driver has worked very well and with the irons he has been notable. The problem has been the putt, another of the strengths of the Catalan player. “I felt the greens very slow, but a lot. I don’t know why. Although you can fix them, the footprints were marked a lot, but above all it was a problem of speed. I didn’t get to understand it,” he assured.
The reality is that without sinking a single putt he has achieved four birdies, a magnificent sign. In addition, the driver has worked very well. He ended the day with anger for not being able to beat the course, but also with the conviction that he can do little to Valhalla. By the way, he was about to sink it from the fairway on 1 before Scheffler, and on 18 he hit a spectacular second shot 225 meters from the hole and left a good eagle option. The putt, of course, did not enter. Today was not the day. Tomorrow is sure to be another story… David knows he needs to play under par to get into the weekend. Right now the cut is at -1.
