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USA Today via Reuters

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USA Today via Reuters

Not the infamous ‘Bear Trap’, but what got Thomas Detry was the rather benign par-4 sixth at the PGA National. Detry took eight shots to win the cup on the Champions course and finished dead last in the Cognizant Classic second round. It was cut day and the pressure clearly got the better of him at the sixth. 

Terrell Owens holding Dude Wipes XL

Detry’s meltdown of a putt has sent the Internet into a frenzy. Cries of ‘one of us’ echoed in the nook and corner of Golf X (or, Golf Twitter). As the clip went viral on social media, here is a rundown of what happened at PGA National. 

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Thomas Detry’s putting travails

Thomas Detry was 50 feet away from the cup at the par-4 sixth at the PGA National. His next shot moved the ball close to six feet from the pin. However, the Belgian international took five more shots to find the cup. The ball lipped out three times. The closest Detry came was 2ft 6 inches from the hole after his third shot. 

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The Belgian is not a poor short-game player, mind you. His putting average (1.719), SG: putting (0.407), and one put percentage (39.74%) are above the field average. A bad day on the course saw the 31-year-old finish at the bottom of the leaderboard after the second round. Detry carded 9-over 80, worse than Anthony Kim’s 6-over 76 after a 12-year hiatus, to miss the cut.

Six putts are rare. But hey, Ernie Els scored 9 on the par-4 first hole at the 2016 Masters. John Daly scored over 10 more than once in his career, including an 18 at the 1998 Bay Hill Invitational. Regardless, the rarity of it got the internet buzzing.

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Fans are not sure how to judge the incident

Was it a case of misfortune or a classic case of misreading the putt? Fans were divided on that. While some thought Detry could’ve done better, others felt it was a one-off incident. Also, the Belgian broke some records as well.

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Read More: Who Is Thomas Detry’s Caddie? Meet the Belgian Pro’s Veteran Bagman

Apparently, Thomas Detry wrote his name in the annals of PGA Tour history. But in a record book, he would rather not see his name in. 

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Detry’s unfortunate incident would lift up anyone who was going through a bad day. Surely, only a few would have it worse.

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Stephen Jaeger was put in an awkward spot watching the nightmare unfold in front of his eyes. He moved from one side to the other, some things this user finds too relatable.

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Thomas Detry didn’t throw his ball to the bush as Scottie Scheffler did a few days ago. Most of us do what this user said—throw the ball in the water and perhaps slam the putter to the ground.

However, some golf fans took a critical look at the six-putt. They felt Thomas Detry should have paused for a moment and taken a read instead of rushing it. 

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Away from the buzz, Bud Cauley, only in this third event in more than four years, took the lead at the PGA National. First-round leader Chad Ramey, and defending champion Chris Kirk, made the cut. As did Nick Dunlap, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Billy Horschel and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Read More: A F***ing Joke’: PGA Tour Roasted by Golf Fans as Cognizant Classic Opening Round Fails to Impress

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Written by

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Parnab Bhattacharya

1,587 Articles

Parnab Bhattacharya is a Newsletter Editor at EssentiallySports in the Golf Division. With four years of writing experience, he is now exploring his deep-rooted love for the gentleman's sport. Parnab's area of expertise is his predictive and perspective pieces, where he explores all things golf, diving deep into the whys and whats behind players' and Tours' moves in the sport, and unflinchingly voicing his take. His love for sports extends beyond the golf course. As a Madridista at heart, he swears by Saint Iker's reflexes and CR7's predatory instinct, when not lost in the pages of a Dostoevsky novel or exploring global cinemas.

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Edited by

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Tushhita Barua

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