Luke Donald apologized Sunday for an offensive remark directed at architect Gil Hanse that was posted on his Twitter account Saturday. It was suppose to be a private message but he accidentally posted it to his followers. In the Tweet he called Hanse an offensive name. The comment has been deleted but obviously word got out quickly.
Donald’s Twitter post stemmed from his frustration with the redesign of the par-5 18th hole at TPC Boston, which has been toughened by a shaved area left of the green.
“I made a mistake, unfortunately. I sent a message that was not meant to go out on Twitter, and I take full responsibility,” Donald said after his third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.
“I realized it immediately, tried to delete it and tried to move on. Unfortunately, it got caught up there, and such is life. I didn’t mean to put it out there, and I apologize to anyone I offended, especially Gil Hanse.”
On Saturday evening, the world No. 2 tweeted to his nearly 300,000 followers, “Nothing quite like hitting my best shot of the day into the last and walking off with a bogie, what a terribly re-designed green #sourtaste."
Jeff Babineau said Donald will also need a new phone number after Tweeting his cell accidentally.
Several celebrities and well-known athletes have abandoned Twitter after getting into damaging situations with what they've written. Donald wouldn’t go so far as to say he's retiring when asked if this incident would curtail his Twitter career.
“Well, it's certainly a powerful tool,” he said, “and you've got to be very aware of it. There's a certain addiction to Twitter. It's that constant update that everyone enjoys. . . . but probably wise if I took a little bit of a hiatus maybe.”
