Rickie Fowler goes from five ahead to one behind after bizarre 11th hole in Phoenix
Sunday 3 February 2019 23:36, UK
Rickie Fowler was cruising to his first victory in almost two years before a bad mistake and a huge slice of misfortune proved costly on the 11th hole at the Phoenix Open.
Fowler led by four shots overnight and had extended his lead to five despite being one over for the final round after 10 holes, but disaster struck at the 11th as he lost two balls in the water.
The fan favourite blocked his approach to the right of the green and was left with a routine chip with plenty of green to work with, but he got heavy-handed with his pitch and his ball trickled past the flag, down the slope and into the water.
But worse was to follow when, in a bizarre incident, he took his penalty drop and placed his ball on the slope close to the hazard line, and as he walked up to inspect the green and judge distance, his ball toppled back into the drink.
He summoned veteran tournament official Slugger White for a ruling, and the leader was assessed another one-shot penalty just as Branden Grace nailed a monster 50-foot putt for birdie up ahead at the 12th to get within one of the lead.
PGA Tour Golf
After taking extra care to make sure his ball was firmly planted second time around, Fowler pitched to 15 feet with his sixth shot and did well to hole the putt for a triple-bogey seven, but he then dropped another shot at the next just as Grace birdie 13 to snatch the lead in a dramatic turnaround.
Click the video above to see Fowler endure water torture at the 11th during the final round of the Phoenix Open...
