Adam Svensson had this shot to make the cut.
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There is a mountain of data that tells us an 8-foot putt on the PGA Tour is a 50-50 ball. Points from that distance in the tournament are retired half the time and lost half the time. What we don’t have is enough data on the 8-footers played while the horn sounds.
But we started on Thursday in that pursuit of data.
Adam Svensson was playing the easier of the two Torrey Pines courses – the North course – during the second round of Insurance of open farmers When he got to his 18th hole—the par-5 9th—he needed a birdie to make the weekend. It had already been a long day, considering the second round suffered an 86-minute suspension of play due to high winds in the area.
Svensson was fine inside dashed line When he made the turn in a under tour, but began to support his second nine nine. He made five pars and three bogeys to claim a birdie at the end. Nothing else would do, and he found himself with an 8-footer to advance.
Maybe you know what’s coming.
Svensson was right at the top of his shot when a nearby horn sounded, warning the players that the second round would be suspended for darkness. He could finish, just as Ludvig Aberg finished the 18th hole of the South Course, which he had started before the horns blew. For Svensson alone, it didn’t matter what happened next. He had to clean up his bed and go to the locker room after missing a cut from one.
This is about as bad as vacations get on the PGA Tour. Bad jump? Don’t miss the green. Related lie? Don’t hit it in the bunker. Gusted by the wind? That’s difficult, but not the end of the world. No one misses a cut because they were pulled by the wind. But a horn on your back? In a true 50-50 shot? There is nothing you can really do to prevent it.
And yet, we cannot be sure that it touched Svensson. Only he could really tell us that, and he would be a biased narrator if he did. But you can see him release his left hand from the seam immediately after impact. He knew he had missed her. And he really couldn’t blame anyone for it. Just bad, bad timing in a multi-course tournament that had to get the word out that play was suspended.
Here’s hoping he has a brutally good break the next time Svensson is around the cut line.
