Matthew Fitzpatrick had to take another approach to the 7th green.
NBC Sports
Perhaps what makes the Open Championship so attractive to us American golfers is seeing the world's best meet conditions they've never seen on the PGA Tour.
And that often results in seeing the best shots in the world that we American hackers never will a dream of.
On Friday at Royal Troon, Matthew Fitzpatrick, the US Open champion two years ago, hit such a shot.
After opening with a 70 on Thursday, England got off to a rough start in the second round as he bogeyed the par-5 4th and doubled the 6th, one of three shots.
On the 7th, Fitzpatrick put his drive into the left fairway pot hole.
In case you haven't heard, the bunkers at Royal Troon this week are no joke.
“They are dangerous,” R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said on Wednesday morning at Troon's apartments. “They are deep. They have a large face, and are designed for outdoor living. We had a good look at the sand, and I think some players noticed that we pushed them up to give them a little chance to get out.”
That slight tilt on the edge of the dugout wasn't enough to help Fitzpatrick on Friday. If things were not going well, the 29-year-old would have to play on the sidelines.
What's worse is that since Fitzpatrick is right-handed and facing a lefty layup, his only option is to step out into the heavy fescue. He had a yard or two of little light between the edge of the basement and the fescue.
It was a soft shot and you played it a touch too far. Fitzpatrick watched in disbelief as his ball went into the tall fescue grass.
“It's something you won't see in a regular tournament,” said the announcer on the Open's worldwide broadcast.
Fortunately, Fitzpatrick's lie wasn't too bad as he got his third shot on the putt and two putted just one shot away.
The two-time PGA Tour winner and nine-time DP World Tour winner turned 40, but after a bogey 7 on Royal Troon's 11th, on the fairway, he found himself six years out of the tournament and outside the requested line.
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