He was shipwrecked, and in a big way. What happened to Ben DeArmond in a Web.com Tour tournament, the second division of the U.S. Tour (what would be the Challenge Tour of the European Tour), was a hecatomb.
He was playing the 2nd hole at Lakewood Ranch, Florida, in the LECOM Suncoast Classic. DeArmond’s wife and parents arrived late to the tournament and caught up with him on that hole, a 450-meter par 4 whose tee shot required overcoming a tree-lined lake.
“I assured them that had nothing to do with them,” the American player later said. And “it” consisted in the fact that he needed no less than 17 strokes to complete that hole.
DeArmond’s ball landed in the water by a mere 30 centimeters from dry land. He decided to go back 27 meters, drop and hit 3-wood. The ball ended up in the water again. Another drop and back into the water. History repeats itself. He asked his caddie for another club, and took a 5 iron. He dropped and the ball ended up in the water again. Another drop and more water. He took the 3-wood again and finally overcame the water hazard. All in all, a sixfold wreck.
“I had to hit it like a sand wedge,” said DeArmond, a Florida golf club professional. At that point, already on the fairway past the lake, the 31-year-old had accumulated 13 strokes. And he still needed four more to finish the hole! His 17 strokes are the highest score for a hole in the history of the Web.com Tour. And he still had 16 holes left to play.
Faced with such a shipwreck, DeArmond considered dropping out of the tournament, but said. who thought of his son, his family, friends and members of his golf club and decided to finish the round. He made 10 pars and one bogey in his last 11 holes, and finished with a total of 91 strokes.
“I was aware that it was a pretty incredible experience,” she said. “I have a 9-month-old son who would look back on it and realize that I made history in a negative sense, but also that I didn’t quit,” he explained.
“Everyone has a bad day. Don’t quit. It doesn’t matter what it’s about. Have the integrity to complete everything you do,” he added.
The next day, DeArmond resumed the competition. This time there was no wreck on hole 2 and he had no problems with his tee shot. His second shot, with 3-wood, ended up in a bunker next to the green, but he got it well out of the sand and left it two meters from the flag, the putt grazed the edge of the hole and with another stroke he holed. In the end, a round of 78 strokes.
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