EVENTS
This is why players rushed to hit shots in the dark at the PGA Championship
Major championships are well known for dramatic scenes, memorable moments, and creative shots.
But few have seen something quite like what Rod Pampling pulled Friday in a moment that would make Happy Gilmore proud.
https://twitter.com/PGA/status/896163518268948480
Now there’s a shot almost everyone has in their bag.
For reference, play was suspended briefly Friday afternoon due to weather, so some of the last groups out were racing against the clock, trying to finish their rounds before the horn sounded, ending play for the night.
When the horn sounds for darkness, players can finish the hole they are on, as long as one player has taken a drive.
And that’s where speed golf comes into play.
https://twitter.com/PGA/status/896159810843942915
Pampling — who finished at 14-over, missing the cut — took one for the team on the par-4 ninth, helping ensure his group wouldn’t have to return early in the morning to play their final hole.
https://twitter.com/BEverillPGATOUR/status/896163182003146752
https://twitter.com/RodPampling/status/896169887181279232
Over on 18, Dustin Johnson followed suit, albeit a little less dramatically.
Johnson was grouped with Jason Day, who carded a 5-under 66 Friday to finish Round 2 in third place at 6-under. On 17, with the threat of the horn looming, Johnson agreed to rush ahead of the group to get a tee shot off on 18.
Chasing Day-light pic.twitter.com/YGc8vu8Qon
— PGA of America (@PGA) August 12, 2017
"We were walking up, and we were talking about if we could get a tee shot on 18, we could finish the round," Day said, according to GolfDigest. "That's the biggest, or most clutch thing I've ever seen anyone do for me.”
DJ gives Jason Day the gift of sleep. pic.twitter.com/MJqLkws1nL
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) August 12, 2017
Unlike Pampling, who made double bogey on his rushed hole, Johnson finished 18 with a par, ending at 2-over. More importantly, he had all of Jason Day's gratitude, and a full night's sleep.
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