Golf’s Massive Meltdowns – Five Memorable Moments
There is nothing like a meltdown to fire up casual viewers and dedicated sports fans. And by ‘meltdown’, in golf, we are not talking about the week-in-week-out scramble down the stretch that sees an endless number of players snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
In truth, that is just normal variance, which sports bettors will be familiar with – a bad bounce here, a missed putt there. Luck has a big part to play in winning a golf tournament over 72 holes, and anything can happen in the elite echelons of this valuable sport.
Coming to terms with a meltdown: Martin Kaymer appears stunned after completing the final round of the 2015 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. ©GettyImages
So, what are the truly memorable moments that saw big-name golfers come unstuck on the final day that cannot be put purely down to misfortune and randomness? With so much at stake and a potentially life-changing 24 hours ahead, a few massive final-day meltdowns spring to mind.
Jean Van de Velde Gets Burned in 1999 British Open
On a dull but noisy Sunday in the aftermath of winds blowing 25-30 miles-per-hour for three days at Carnoustie (or “Carnasty” as it has been dubbed), a Frenchman named Jean Van de Velde – ranked world number 152 at the time – held a five-stroke lead. The eventual 1999 British Open winner Paul Lawrie was ten shots back on a wing and a prayer.
Van de Velde was a big odds-on shot heading into the final round, and best golf betting sites had pulled down the shutters on the win market as he approached the 18th tee, still three shots ahead. Jean was set to become the first French golfer to win the Open Championship since the early nineteen hundreds.
A double bogey would have been good enough. But, at this point, Van de Velde’s golfing brain was in a state of suspended animation, and he was unbeknownst to the fact that his closest challenger, Justin Leonard, had been swimming in the Barry Burn going down to hole number 18.
With that, Van de Velde took out the big stick and sliced one high into the wind. It was so wide it missed the water. His second was little better as he played ping pong with the grandstand and the Barry Burn – ending up knee-deep hay.
‘Barry’ had yet to have its say as the Frenchman’s club got tangled in the rough, and the Burn was like a magnet to his golf ball. With his faculties now going, Jean pulled up the trousers and entered the Burn, contemplating hitting his shot from the water!
Ten minutes later, he decided to take a penalty drop but chunked his fifth shot into the bunker. To his credit, he got up and down for a seven and still had a chance in a three-way playoff. He didn’t win, but Van de Velde’s exploits had given birth to the term “pulling a Van de Velde” – describing the most outrageous golfing meltdowns.
Rory McIlroy Drops From Four in Front to Ten Behind
Rory McIlroy is one major short of a grand slam, but the final leg of the accumulator should have been the first to be completed. Augusta, and The Masters, remains the last of the quartet to be tamed and donning the green jacket would see the Irishman secure all golf’s biggest tournaments.
Entering the final round of the 2011 Masters with a four-stroke lead, McIlroy still held the advantage at the turn, but things went dramatically wrong. The Northern Irishman pulled his tee shot out of bounds at the tenth, costing him a triple bogey and placing him two strokes behind Charl Schwartzel.
A bogey and a double bogey through Amen Corner (holes 11, 12 and 13) ensued, and with that, his Masters betting odds reached triple figures. There was no miracle; Rory shot 80 that day – one of the worst final-round scores in Masters’ history. Better was to come for Rory as he won the US Open later that year.
Ten Clear to Third for Kaymer in Abu Dhabi
Few golf pros have lost a ten-shot lead 54 holes or more deep into a golf tournament. Whatever you do, do not remind German Martin Kaymer of this golfing fact. On the Sunday at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in 2015 – a course he had won at three times before – Kaymer was to slip up big time.
Frenchman Gary Stal, who was eight shots adrift after 54 holes, was to be the beneficiary of Kaymar’s almighty collapse. Unfortunately for Stal, The Abu Dhabi Championship would be remembered more for Kaymer’s meltdown than his victory.
Arguably, course specialist and multiple major winner Martin Kaymer was never the same player after this defeat. It takes a significant collapse in confidence to lose a ten-stroke lead. Even the best golf betting sites had quoted the German 1/500 to win the title early into his final round.
A double bogey at the ninth and a triple-bogey at the 13th did the most damage, but Kaymer’s woes around the green were plain to see as he duffed his way to the finish line. A year earlier, Kaymer had famously used his putter for most of his shots around the green to capture the US Open at Pinehurst No.2.
In the history of golf betting, this is as big a collapse as we will ever see. “I am surprised and a little shocked. I started well, then hit a couple of bad tee shots, and they cost me,” said Kaymer as he tried to dampen the magnitude of his collapse. Third was his eventual finishing position, with McIlroy snatching second after shooting a 66 compared to Kaymer’s 75.
Spieth Prayers Not Answered at Amen Corner
Jordan Spieth did his best to follow in the footsteps of Rory McIlroy on Masters Sunday in 2016. Masters’ winners are usually from the shorter end of the Masters golf betting market. But this time, Danny Willett – offered at triple-figure odds with betting sites pre-tournament – was handed the victory down the stretch.
Spieth held a five-shot lead heading to the 12th hole at Amen Corner with a hungry Rae’s Creek seemingly sleeping silently. With one hand on the trophy, he stepped onto the infamous short hole with just a 9-iron in his grip. It was only 150 yards on the card, but Spieth’s heart sank along with his golf ball one swing later. Rae’s Creek had awoken, and Spieth provided breakfast.
The American’s heart fell deeper and deeper as what can only be described as a pure choke saw his next shot find Rae’s Creek once more after a massive chunk took more mud than ball. A seven was circled on the card, and a now broken-hearted Jordan Speith – the defending champion that year – went into meltdown mode in what was described by Nick Faldo as a “mixture of disaster and torture”.
There was almost an eerie feel coming from Butler Cabin as a duty-bound Spieth helped a disbelieving Danny Willet slide his arms into the green jacket. Willet’s participation in the Masters that year was confirmed late, and with Spieth closing out the front nine with four birdies for a five-shot lead, the Englishman could not have envisaged what was about to happen.
Claret Jug is too Hot for Scott
In 2012, Adam Scott lost out on an Open Championship as big Ernie Els took home his second Claret Jug. Many people watching felt for Scottie, who was arguably the best player never to win a major at the time. He must have wondered if his chance would ever come again.
Standing on the 15th tee at Royal Lytham and St. Annes, Scott had accrued a four-shot lead. For those into their golf trivia, the probability of the Aussie finishing with four bogeys was in the region of one percent. He did just that, handing the Claret Jug to his friend and the almost apologetic Ernie Els. Scott missed a seven-footer on the last green that would have forced a playoff.
“I’m a little numb at the moment,” said Els after collecting his prize, “First of all, I feel for Adam Scott. He’s a great friend of mine. Obviously, we both wanted to win very badly.” There would be better times ahead for Scott. The following year, he and his team, led by caddy Steve Williams, defeated Angel Cabrera in a playoff to win The Masters.
