Watch: Masters champ Patrick Reed endures bunker nightmare at Scottish Open
Patrick Reed was rolling along through the first round and a half of the Scottish Open until he walked up to the tee at the par-3 12th hole at Gullane Golf Club in East Lothian.
Reed was 9-under when he came to the tee at 12, 4-under on the day after shooting a 5-under 65 in round 1.
But the little 173-yard hole would derail that momentum.
Reed hit his tee shot into a pot bunker on the right side of the green. It landed close to the roughly 4-foot-high front of the bunker and buried in the sand, creating a fried egg situation.
Reed took aim at the flag and tried to blast the ball over that 4-foot wall, but to no avail. It slammed into the hill and bounced back into the bunker.
FYI. Links golf is hard. pic.twitter.com/Pxls6C0QmU
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 14, 2018
While he had a slightly better angle over the wall, he now faced an awkward address as he had to stand elevated on the grass outside the bunker.
Consequently, he wasn’t able to get under the ball enough to get over the front of the bunker, and it once again clammed into the wall and bounced back into the bunker.
WATCH Patrick Reed continue to get fried eggs, take three shots to get out of bunker: https://t.co/syWX5wMX8M pic.twitter.com/OZzwWQsr9a
— Golfweek (@golfweek) July 13, 2018
Now Reed was taking his fourth shot on the par-3 and he was pretty much back where he started. This could really ugly.
But now it was too late to take his medicine and pitch out backward then on to the green, so he took aim once again over that high front wall of the bunker.
This time he hit beautiful out that rolled some five feet from the pin.
I would have gone backwards to go forwards 🙂
"Reed needs three swings from pot bunker in Scotland" https://t.co/bhINeBTAsn— Danielle Tucker (@TheGolfClub) July 13, 2018
He hit the putt and salvaged a double-bogey to drop to 7-under for the tournament.
https://twitter.com/Cole4Jamie/status/1018020851441119232
It could have been a lot worse. After a birdie on 14, Reed bogeyed 17 and 18 to limp in with a 1-under round of 69.
Reed was 6-under after two rounds, six shots behind England’s Robert Rock, who was at 13-under.
Thing of beauty. 💙
.#Repost @taylormadegolf
・・・
6 days until all eyes are on the “Spectacle Bunkers.” #TheOpen #carnoustie https://t.co/5bTWMifItw pic.twitter.com/AAyWy3rIbB— gimmiegolff (@gimmiemoregolf) July 13, 2018
The experience may serve Reed well next week when he plays in The Open at Carnoustie in Scotland, where pot bunkers are everywhere. It is considered one of the toughest Open tracks.
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