After 83-yard chunk on Open’s signature par-3, professional withdraws

The pint-sized Postage Stamp gap at Royal Troon — aka the 120-ish-yard par-3 eighth — has given golfers matches because it was formed and rolled and minimize into existence roughly 150 years in the past. Tiger Woods made a 6 on the opening on the 1997 Open. That very same week, British professional Steve Bottomley wanted a mixed 17 strokes to complete the opening, in simply two rounds. “You don’t want a 240-yard par-3 for it to be exhausting,” Woods mentioned earlier this week.

Within the opening spherical of the 152nd Open Championship, Romain Langasque added one other web page to the Postage Stamp’s lengthy and colourful historical past.

The 29-year-old Frenchman was one over when he arrived on the tee on the eighth — nothing to smell at within the wild and windy situations the gamers confronted Thursday. However his scorecard didn’t inform the complete story, as a result of Langasque was hurting. He’d tweaked his again on the 4th gap.

The results of that harm: possibly the ugliest swing of the day at Royal Troon, a fatted wedge that carried all of 84 yards earlier than burying in tangled tough effectively wanting the inexperienced. It was the sort of shot you’d count on from a nervy novice on Troon’s signature gap, not from the 142nd-ranked participant on this planet.  

“He simply hit it a wee bit fats,” Scottish golf legend Sam Torrance mentioned generously on the Open’s international broadcast.

Langasque’s subsequent swing? Not a lot better. From ankle-high fescue, he skulled a chip by way of the again of the inexperienced. Langasque took all of six paces towards his ball earlier than eradicating his cap and whirling again round to declare to his taking part in companions that he would hit no additional photographs in what was his fifth Open begin. Langasque was withdrawing.

“Damage my again on gap 4 and it turned value and price [sic] after it,” he tweeted later within the day. “see you subsequent 12 months”

Langasgue is the third participant to withdraw from this Open. Sebastian Soderberg of Sweden tapped out earlier within the week with a again and rib harm, and David Duval, the 2001 winner, pulled his title from competition final week.

Alan Bastable

Golf.com Editor

As GOLF.com’s govt editor, Bastable is liable for the editorial path and voice of one of many recreation’s most revered and extremely trafficked information and repair websites. He wears many hats — modifying, writing, ideating, growing, daydreaming of at some point breaking 80 — and feels privileged to work with such an insanely proficient and hardworking group of writers, editors and producers. Earlier than grabbing the reins at GOLF.com, he was the options editor at GOLF Journal. A graduate of the College of Richmond and the Columbia College of Journalism, he lives in New Jersey along with his spouse and foursome of youngsters.