Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
Fleetwood and Bay Hill Golf Club do not get along as the Englishman looked more like Kevin Costner than a pro golfer.
Tommy Fleetwood is still hunting for his first PGA Tour victory, but it won’t be coming this week. Fleetwood is not having a good time at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, to put it mildly.
During Friday’s second round, the Englishman struggled from the start. He made three bogeys in his first five holes, and it got worse from there.
Fleetwood recorded a 10 on the par-5 6th hole after hitting it into the water not once, not twice but three times.
Fleetwood hit it 318 yards to the right fairway off the tee.
His second shot though went 212 yards right into the water. He took his drop and had 182 yards for his fourth shot. He made the same mistake again and had to drop a second time. Fleetwood repeated this motion, losing a third ball to the pond.
On shot 8, he had 202 yards to the green, and Fleetwood finally cleared the water, leaving it 24ft. 5 inches from the hole. He hit it past the hole but got the ball in its home on the 10th stroke.
It was brutal and reminiscent of a famous scene from the beloved golf film, Tin Cup.
Golf fans know the 1996 movie and watched Kevin Costner, aka Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy, send countless balls into the water, coughing up his chance at a U.S. Open title.
The Ryder Cup veteran will not make the cut following his horrific start to his round and will remain winless on the PGA Tour.
Fleetwood is the No. 12 ranked player globally. Carding double digits on a hole should remind fans that it can happen to anyone and pros are human after all.
He has found success on the DP World Tour, recording seven victories. Most recently, Fleetwood won the Dubai Invitational. However, things just don’t seem to fall right for him in the States.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
