Greg Owen: What a Stupid He Is

[iacas]

Sorry to Roberto de Vicenzo, but what the heck? Seriously dude? Three-putting in ten seconds from 3'4"?

Ain't no way you deserved to win that tournament. That's the biggest choke I may have ever seen. My brain is failing me at this point in coming up with a bigger one. Can you think of one?

WOW.

[BruceH]

Brain fade notwithstanding...

YAY PAMPS!! Another Aussie brings home the chocolates!

I nearly spilled my morning coffee when Owen 3-jacked. It meant my mental telepathy skills must have been working. That force field I was able to generate around the cup from 10000 miles away was quite a feat don't you think.

[jeffgladchun]

Sorry to Roberto de Vicenzo, but what the heck? Seriously dude? Three-putting in ten seconds from 3'4"?

Hmm... Van De Velde at Carnoustie? Norman in half of his tournaments

But yeah... what a choke... shame to go down that way. For some reason my tivo didn't record the 17th hole and when I looked at the scoreboard on the 18th and did the math I went, "WHAT THE HELL?! DOUBLE BOGEYYY!?" Ah well, congrats Pampling.

[muskegman]

I was rooting for Pamp down the stretch but that was one ugly finish. Owen choked big time. The least he could have done was gone through his pre-shot routine.

[Sazgolf]

Scott Hoch - Masters

[iacas]

Scott Hoch - Masters

Interview with Greg Owen . Oy. Scott Hoch may be right. But I think choking is more a mental thing, and Hoch's putt wasn't as easy as two-putting from 40". I think the bigger choke was Owen's. I may be remembering incorrectly, but Hoch didn't just walk up and rap at it. He took his time, went through his routine, etc. He just missed the putt. Right?

[leftysviewuk]

Watched the whole thing on Sky Sports here in the UK and was shocked by the lack of the pre-shot routine before the missed 2nd putt...... I did watch the interview on Sky Sports and he was very honest and open...... the commentators were impressed that he even had the courtesy to provide comment...

[Sazgolf]

yes, but as far as "big" chokes are concerned, I think that missing a 30" putt on the last green to win a major tournament is a bigger deal than three putting from 3 feet to keep a one shot lead at a regular tour stop, with another hole to play.

Also, if Pampling loses, his drive OB on the easiest par 4 on the course would be just as big of a choke as Owen's three putt. My point being, regardless Owen still had time to make up for the three jack as Pampling did for his mental lapse - and it was "only" a regular tour stop...

[ragontona]

I'm gonna have to go with Van de Velde in '99. Owens let his emotions get the best of him when he three-putted from three feet, I agree. But every last one of us has done that, though probably not with so much on the line. I think that Pampling's OB with the driver was actually a dumber mistake, which he fortunately didn't have to pay for.

But oh, Jean Van de Velde. THAT was some choking right there. I remember watching it as it happened. Couldn't take my eyes off the screen. It was damn near hypnotic... watching this guy completely come undone in front of the entire world in arguably the biggest event in his sport. All he needed was a double bogey -- play it safe with a fairway wood, easy shot into middle of the green, then he could four-putt and still win. I couldn't remember every detail, so I had to go online to an old article to find it:

He hit driver off the tee and was lucky that it found land, albeit on a peninsula guarded by Barry Burn. He would find that hazard before long.

His next shot hit the upper rail of the grandstand, bounced off the bricks bordering the burn and wound up in the rough. Van de Velde plowed through the long grass with a wedge and the horrified gallery, who had come to expect the worst, gasped when the ball sank into the bottom of the burn.

As if that wasn't enough, Van de Velde almost compounded his growing list of errors when he rolled up his pant legs, stepped into the chilly, shin-deep water fed by the Firth of Tay and contemplated playing a ball that was underwater.

He finally took a drop in the rough and hit in the bunker.

Craig Parry, also in the bunker in a more conventional two shots, holed his shot and offered Van de Velde one last hope.

"What about you following me into the hole?" Parry said.

Fat chance. He blasted out to 8 feet, but summoned enough courage to make the putt and get into the playoff.



Look at that picture and tell me that guy hasn't lost his composure. I mean, I've choked in big spots before, but I've never choked so bad I ended up standing ankle deep in mud with my pants jacked up around my knees. Pretty sure that's not what he had in mind when he teed off on the 72nd with a three-stroke lead.

[iacas]

True, Van de Velde may take the cake. Too bad he can't eat it too...

I think that 80% of the male golfers in the world could have managed a double bogey there. And that's sayin' something...

[Rafcin]

I'd not call Owen a chocker, it was more a brain-fart than anything else. Haven't we all do that - a 1ft tap-in - walked up... and missed it. It's not hard to do and his disrespect of the situation was fully penalized. Additionally - I don't think you're really a "chocker" unless you're in position to say "if I only pull this one shot off - I'm a champion!". There was still very tough 18 to play and I doubt he'd a thought of championship going through his mind when he stroke the 2nd putt on 17th. Van De Valde was definitely a guy in a quick-sand.... most painful sport event to watch , ever ( IMHO ).

[Baynative]

When Daly won the Open he and Constantino Rocca each blew it more than once on the way in. That was a great drama to watch, too.