Incredible moment American golfer’s putt somehow bounces back out of the cup onto the green after seemingly going in at the US Open
- Gordon Sargent’s putt hit the back of the cup and bounced out on the 18th hole
- He still managed to win the title of best amateur golfer at the major tournament
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Gordon Sargent ended his day as the best amateur golfer at the US Open, but he missed his final putt of the tournament in a stunning way.
With a putt just a few feet away from the hole for par, Sargent’s putt went straight into the hole, but bounced out of it and came to a rest inches away from the edge of the cup.
A dumbfounded Sargent stared at the ball and his caddie before eventually tapping in a bogey putt to finish his tournament four-over par.
The golfing world was stunned by what happened – with USGA officials providing an explanation later – saying Sargent’s ball popped back out due to a previous player or caddie altering the hole liner.
Essentially, when another golfer removed the stick – likely in the group of Ryan Gerard and Mackenzie Hughes that played the hole before him – they may have dislodged said liner and the USGA didn’t have time to adjust before Sargent’s putt.
Gordon Sargent’s putt seemed destined to go in but it bounced out of the cup on the 18th hole
Golfers and commentators were left shocked by what looked like a dead-center putt that ended up missing.
Former World No. 1 Luke Donald tweeted, ‘This is unacceptable! Does the @USGA go fix this mid round? This should never happen.’
CBS golf analyst Trevor Immelman simply tweeted, ‘Cup not deep enough on 18?’
Pro golfer Hunter Mahan also posted to social media, asking, ‘WTF just happened to Sargent????? How could that happen?!’
DP World Tour pro Julien Brun sympathized with Sargent, saying, ‘Happened to me 15 y ago at the French Am…still traumatised to this day!
‘Called a ref who told me there was nothing he could do, just an extra stroke on the card. Also this requires the perfect putt/pace to hit the exact angle of the cup to bounce back! #GolfStory’
PGA Tour Canada player Fredrik Lindblom took a more critical tone. ‘The US Open staff doesn’t know how to put in a cup?!?!,’ the Swede tweeted.
‘This happens if the cup is not far enough down so that it hits the top edge of the metal cup. If the cup is far enough down it hits the soil. Unacceptable.’
Golfers watching across the globe felt bad for Sargent, who had to card a bogey
Current and former professional golfers tweeted in outrage over the unfortunate incident
In the aftermath of his miss, Sargent spoke to reporters re-living the events of the last hole.
‘I had like a two-and-a-half footer straight up the hill that hit the back of the hole and just bounced right back to me,’ Sargent told reporters.
‘Haven’t seen that happen in a while, but that’s how it goes sometimes.’
Sargent won the title of Low Amateur in spite of this mistake – finishing far ahead of his fellow amateur golfers.
The 2022 NCAA national champion is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University and finished four-over par for the tournament.
Sargent still won the title of Low Amateur as the best non-professional golfer at the US Open
Sargent had struggled in his first major tournament appearance back at The Masters in April – losing out to Sam Bennett.
‘It’s kind of what your goal as an amateur is, just to be the low-am,’ Sargent said.
‘Playing in my second major, I wasn’t as nervous as the first one [the Masters]. It just gives you confidence and also kind of shows what you need to work on.
‘I know that my good golf, I can compete with the best and just need to limit the mistakes a little bit.’
