“The Monster” swallowed up the world’s top-ranked player on Sunday.
Jason Day, at the time tied with Dustin Johnson at 6 under in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, felt the full wrath of Firestone South’s signature 16th hole, a par-5, 667-yard “Monster” that stands as the longest and one of the most difficult holes on the PGA Tour.
Most don’t attempt to slay it and reach the green with two mighty swings. Most play it safe. Sometimes, “The Monster” still ends up biting. And the world’s No. 1-ranked player wasn’t immune.
Day approached the tee on No. 16 having already given back 3 strokes between the 13th and 15th holes. He bogeyed the 15th and Johnson birdied the 13th and 14th. He then lived the nightmare of how the 16th can unravel championship hopes.
Day hit a 3-wood off the tee that went far to the left, eventually resting under a tree. It was already a bad start to a hole that requires no first-hand help in making it tough to handle. Making matters worse, as Day tried to get a good look at his options by crouching under the tree, he heard a roar from the crowd at the 17th green. It was Johnson sinking his birdie putt and taking his first lead of the tournament.
“[Number] 16 is always a tough par-5 anyways if you don’t get a good drive there,” Day said. “It’s really tough to get any sort of wedge in your hand and [I] kind of made a mess of it.”
He attempted to punch it back onto the fairway to try to save par or even, potentially, put it close enough to try for the green in regulation. But he instead overshot the fairway and sent his ball into the gallery on the right side. According to one onlooker, a child picked up his ball before it stopped rolling, creating some confusion. It was eventually cleared up, giving a Day a free drop away from the tree his ball was behind and a chance to get out of his mess.
Day’s third shot was an attempt to roll it up the neck of the fairway that wraps around the green-side pond. If he hits it long but straight, it could go into a green-side bunker, still giving him a chance to get up-and-down for par.
But it went short and a tough right. Day’s shot looked like a tournament-saver until it ran out of steam, caught the ridge and rolled into the pond. His championship hopes just about sank with it.
“I was just sitting there really thinking about — especially on my third shot, I tried to hit it just left of the green,” Day said. “You can’t hit it if you’re trying to hit a low punch cut around the corner, that’s what I was trying to go for, and I hit a good shot, I just didn’t hit it hard enough. If I hit it long and left into the trees, then it’s a difficult up-and-down, and it obviously brings out of bounds into play, too.”
Day didn’t feel confident in laying up, as it would have been difficult to judge how far the shot would have rolled coming out of the rough. He believed he had the right option. But he had run out of options on a hole that demands exit strategies.
“I thought I had the right play,” Day said. “I think I was just trying to hit it up there to the left, get it just left of the bunker or just in the bunker there. If I could do that, hole the putt or get up-and-down, and try and make a birdie coming home. Sometimes you take those risks and it doesn’t pay off.”
Day had to drop and then put his fifth shot into the green-side rough. A chip and a putt later, and he had double-bogeyed and trailed Johnson by 3 strokes. He went on to finish 3 under for the tournament, 3 behind Johnson.
In the process, Day became just the next on a growing list of victims to “The Monster,” Firestone South’s lurking beast on the back nine.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com.