Henrik Stenson was having a dream opening round at the Masters Thursday until blowing up on the 18th hole. Stenson, who had gone five under the first 17 holes of the tournament, double-bogeyed 18 after pulling his drive into the trees.
Stenson needed two shots to get out of the pine, then he overshot the flag and needed two shots to reach the green. From there, he missed a short putt before finally ending his misery with an eight to finish his round with a 1-under 71.
“The worst part of 18 was really over-hitting the wedge and hitting it up in the crowds behind the green and then it took me four to get down from there,” Stenson said. “The fifth shot that I played is a foot from being stiff really. Small margins, and obviously with hacking a few earlier, that just made it worse. Finishing with an 8, I don’t think I’ve ever done that.”
Stenson has a short memory; he took an 8 on the fourth hole par-3 at the Masters last year — the worst score ever recorded on that hole.
If there’s anything he can take away from the blowup, it’s that at least he made history. Stenson’s eight matched the worst score ever recorded at Augusta National’s closing hole, the seventh time it had been shot there and the first since Colombia’s Camilo Villegas did it in 2007, according to the AP. Well done, Henrik!
