On the 12th green at the 2018 PGA Championship, Gary Woodland hit the flagstick during an approach shot, and his hole concluded with a birdie. If not for the flagstick, the ball might have gone way ahead of the hole. The same incident repeated at the PGA Tour’s $9.9 million Charles Schwab Challenge 2026, but the results were the opposite.

Starting at the back nine for his second round at Colonial Country Club, the 42-year-old took an approach shot on the 15th, and it hit the flagstick. But the reason the PGA Tour called it “Pain 😩” was because the ball then rolled back 30’2″ away from the hole and off the green.

“Bad break for Woodland. Really bad break. If that ball misses a flagstick, it’s taking one big bounce and going to spin, and may have,” the PGA Tour broadcasters reacted to the instance.

What could have been an eagle, or a birdie, sadly ended as a par. If the ball had landed in the pin, he would have had an eagle and would have become a co-leader. Surprisingly, the 2018 incident played out differently.

After his ball hit the flagstick, the impact and subsequent spin of the ball altered the roundness and integrity of the hole by causing slight damage to the back lip of the cup. This resulted in a brief delay in the play while the grounds crew came out to patch it up. After the play resumed, Woodland sank a birdie putt. He ultimately tied for 6th place at 10-under-par that week. But that’s how the game of golf is.

Gary Woodland is having a good season this year. After his September 2023 craniotomy surgery to remove a benign lesion, he won for the first time this year at the 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open and secured a spot at the 2026 Masters. It was indeed an emotional moment, and now, he is again in strong contention to win the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge. After finishing 13 holes of his 2nd round, he is only two strokes short of the present leader, J.J. Spaun.

Many professionals have faced this issue, and at much bigger stages. Tyrell Hatton, for example, hit the flagstick on his approach to the 7th in Round 1 at the 2026 Masters. The PGA Tour winner could barely contain his fury as the ball spun back into a bunker. He finished the hole with a bogey.

J.J. Spaun experienced this cruelty at the 2025 U.S. Open. He entered the final round just 1 shot behind the leader, Sam Burns. But his approach shot on the 2nd hole hit the flagstick and rolled off the green, and Spaun ended up with a bogey. Although he won, that shot could have easily barred him from winning his one and only major.

Such instances have led to flagstick debate among both professionals and fans. Before 2019, golfers who hit the flagstick from the green faced a 2-stroke penalty. However, that changed in 2019, as Rule 13.2 allows professionals to putt with the flagstick in the hole. Golfers have different views on this.

“Pin in is an easy one,” Bryson DeChambeau said.

Justin Thomas, however, has an opposite view: “If I have an eight-footer to win a golf tournament, I mean no offense; I can’t really take myself seriously if I kept the pin in. If I have a putt I’m trying to make, that thing’s coming out,” he said.

Keeping the flagstick in is a choice professionals can make, but while taking an approach shot, it is more about luck, and it wasn’t on Gary Woodland’s side this time.

Fans debate cruel flagstick physics after PGA Tour pro Gary Woodland’s painful bounce

“This is the biggest argument for pulling the flagstick when approaching. If that pin weren’t there, that ball is a guaranteed birdie or eagle opportunity. The physics of golf are just cruel,” one fan wrote.

The reaction echoed several infamous flagstick heartbreaks from recent years. Phil Mickelson suffered a nearly identical moment at LIV Golf Miami in 2024; Rickie Fowler’s near-perfect shot at the 2026 RBC Heritage was also ruined. Mickelson also saw a near-ace denied at the 2019 CJ Cup after his tee shot struck the flagstick instead of dropping.

Some fans even focused on the emotional side of Woodland’s bad break.

“That might actually ruin my whole day, and I’m not even the one playing,” a fan posted.

The sympathy surrounding Gary Woodland carries extra weight because of his comeback story. He is in contention to win his second title this season, and this shot could mean the difference between a win and a loss. That made the cruel bounce feel even tougher for fans watching his resurgence unfold.

Echoing similar feelings, another user wrote, “Wow, that feels even more regrettable than losing $2 million in investments☹️.”

Some fans, however, believed the shot itself still deserved praise despite the outcome.

“These shots are the definition of a good miss,” one user wrote.

Not everyone blamed the flagstick entirely, though.

“Yes, he bounced into the pin, but too much spin is what backed it off the green,” one fan argued.

The 5x PGA Tour winner has been a good iron player in 2026. He ranks 53rd in SG: Approach to Green and 11th in SG: Off the Tee. On fast greens, high-spin approaches that strike the flagstick at the wrong angle can quickly turn from perfect to punishing.