Playing at the Masters seems difficult enough in the first place, given the tough layout of the course and the amount of focus on competitors. Playing four holes there without your usual putter seems more challenging still. But South Korean golfer Si Woo Kim (who’s 25, currently 49th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and won the Players’ Championship in 2017) did just fine Friday using a 3-wood to putt for his four final holes after smashing his putter in frustration over a bad chip on the 15th hole and a three-putt on the 14th hole. Here’s video of Kim breaking his putter:
Following a three-putt on No. 14, Si Woo Kim breaks his putter.
He's currently tied for fifth at -4. pic.twitter.com/2mp9K0CXgZ
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 9, 2021
But Kim used his 3-wood on that hole and on the next three, and he achieved pretty similar results to what you’d expect if he’d had his usual putter. He two-putted on all four of those holes, hitting par in each situation (he’s seen above doing that on the 17th hole), and narrowly missed a one-putt birdie on the 15th. Afterwards, he told writers (including Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press) that this was the first time he’d ever broken a club while on course:
Si Woo Kim acknowledges that he has broken clubs out of frustration before, with one very significant caveat.
“Not on the course,” Kim said.
Kim answered a couple of further questions from reporters, including that he preferred the 3-word to the sand wedge because he felt it was easier to control, especially on Augusta National’s fast greens. But after that, he said he didn’t want to answer any more, and exited. Still, this worked out pretty well for him: on the day, Kim finished with a three-under 69, dropping him to a four-under through two rounds and putting him three shots back of leader Justin Rose (and well ahead of the three-over cut line, unlike 2020 Masters winner Dustin Johnson). So the unconventional putter worked out all right.
[The Associated Press; photo from Michael Madrid/USA Today Sports]
