Tiger Woods has four-putted twice this season, once at Riviera last Saturday and once at Torrey Pines. Four-putting twice in one season was something he hadn't done since 1998, his second full season as a professional. As shocking as both four-jacks were, neither of them were as unbelievable as a four-putt from Byeong Hun An on Thursday at the WGC-Mexico. Well, at least in the gambling community.
If you follow the PGA Tour Daily Fantasy/Gambling scene on social media, you'll quickly come to realize that An is a polarizing figure. The 28-year-old South Korean often has great odds to be the outright winner, making him an attractive bet each time he tees it up given his immense talent. This week, An opened at 100/1 on DraftKings, and yours truly made a small wager on him.
While he's flashed the potential to be a multiple-time tour winner (An has lost twice in playoffs at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and The Memorial), some bad luck and a balky putter have kept him out of the winner's circle so far in his career. This was as evident as ever on Thursday at the WGC-Mexico, where An was in the first group off alongside Tyrrell Hatton and Scott Hend. After driving the par-4 first green at Chapultepec, those who were high on An this week could already taste the victory champagne. Worst case scenario, he'd two-putt for birdie. Right?
Oh dear god ….
FacebookPinterestThat's right, An four-putted from 25 feet for a disastrous bogey to start. The first hole at Chapultepec is one that has players salivating over an opening birdie, which An had all but locked up. Instead, he missed a pair of two footers to begin his day one over. Golf fans and fellow degenerates found it so hard to believe that they all thought it had to be a mistake:
After waiting the requisite five minutes and hoping for a fix from shot tracker, everyone's prayers fell on deaf ears. An did indeed four-putt from 25 feet, or three-putted from two feet, depending on how you look at it.
At the second hole, An smashed another drive that left him with a 52-yard wedge shot. He hit it over the green.
FacebookPinterestAs you can see, he followed that up with a bogey. Just as I finished typing that, he made another bogey at the fourth to drop to three over through four. In other words, this has been the full Byeong Hun An experience, and we are only four holes into Thursday.
By the way, this is all out of love, Benny. I think I speak for a lot of An bettors when I say that I will be betting on him again soon. We just might need to take a break for now.