Most golfers who are in dead-last of a tournament don’t move the needle at all. Friday was a very abnormal day in the very abnormal sport in that regard. First up was Anthony Kim’s rocky LIV Golf debut that plummeted him to the bottom of the 54-man field. Then came Thomas Detry, who had to be having an out-of-body experience of sorts on the par-4 sixth green at PGA National in the Cognizant Classic.
It was already going to take a Herculean effort for Detry just to make the weekend cut. After a two-over 73 to start, he bogeyed two of his first five holes in Round 2 before lagging his 57-foot birdie putt on No. 6 to just inside six feet. What transpired from there is almost certain to make anyone cringe who has the most casual awareness of golf.
The single greatest putting display in professional golf history pic.twitter.com/biutuTlocI
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) March 1, 2024
Look at the play-by-play of that carnage, which led to a quadruple bogey and derailed Detry’s bid for the weekend en route to a round of 80:
Thomas Detry 6-putt ☠️ pic.twitter.com/dtqvYqvzUy
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) March 1, 2024
Again, even though Thomas Detry is the 70th-ranked golfer on the planet, he’s not exactly a household name. He’s from Belgium. He’s 31 years old. Prime of his career just ahead. This episode with the flat stick will unfortunately overshadow most of what he does until he breaks through with a victory on the PGA Tour. It was a meltdown of historic proportions.
Thomas Detry had a 6-putt on the 6th hole today at PGA National.
It's the most putts by any player on a single hole since this tournament moved to PGA National and the most by any player on a single hole on Tour since Danny Lee 6-putted the 18th in round 3 of the 2020 U.S. Open.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) March 1, 2024
Six-putting would probably happen more with weekend warrior golfers if they were forced to putt everything out. I know the last time I played, I had the legit yips. Switched from the conventional grip to the claw. That worked for a little while, only to eventually betray me. Putting is often the only thing I can do. Usually the ball is being sprayed all over the course. Moral of the story: Golf is hard. Detry is a professional. Has to be one of the most anxiety-inducing ways to make a living among jobs many would do almost anything to have on paper.
Most people in the replies to this unraveling actually had a lot of sympathy for Detry, commending him for keeping his cool:
This is me on like hole 12 just before I rage quit and spend the rest of the back nine just sitting in the cart drinking
— College Football Lounge (@CFBLounge) March 1, 2024
Yow–well–gotta appreciate how the other golfer on the green patiently waited, didn't smirk, and just let the poor guy make memories by himself…
— Andy Martin (@Dollarlogic) March 1, 2024
That last lip out is brutal 😵💫
— Wise Guy (@WiseGuyBets87) March 1, 2024
My ball would 100% go in the water and putter would in two pieces after that
— Let’s Talk Sports (@LTSports80) March 1, 2024
Why didn’t bro just slow down for a sec after the second one? My god.
— Chris (@rebel_qb) March 1, 2024
I drove the green two years ago on a par 4 and then did this.
— BigHornStew (@BigHornStew) March 1, 2024
— oilime (@oilimeRuiz) March 1, 2024
I wouldve picked it up after the 2nd miss
— Joe Public (@JoePublicBet) March 1, 2024
— uncoyle (@uncoyle) March 1, 2024
“Just give me a double”
— Jarett Maker (@JarettMaker) March 1, 2024
Let’s be real, though: For as well as he carried himself and champed through the struggle, there’s no way Detry’s putter isn’t completely mangled by tonight’s end. I would’ve done it in the parking lot. Or chucked it in the water. Detry is a better man than I.
Rather than dwell on Detry’s putting display any longer, how about we ride into the weekend with some positive reinforcement and encouragement for the young man. Detry is ascending among the game’s better players, with a smooth swing that creates an enviable blend of power and precision off the tee and a greens in regulation clip north of 71% on the season.
Thomas Detry’s swing is super pure. Sort of on the longer and more fluid end of the spectrum.
Follow through reminds me a little of Max Homa. pic.twitter.com/qBHHrQO5fs
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) February 3, 2024
