Bubba Watson ruins flying start with triple-bogey at Postage Stamp
By Keith Jackson at Royal Troon
Last Updated: 14/07/16 5:07pm
Bubba Watson was at the top of The Open leaderboard after seven holes of his opening round, but he then endured a triple-bogey six at the Postage Stamp.
Watson does not have a good Open record, missing the cut four times in seven appearances with a best finish of 23rd in 2012, but he put himself on course for a strong challenge with five birdies over the first six holes in glorious conditions on day one.
Open leaderboard
But he came to grief at Royal Troon's iconic par-three eighth, where his problems began when he blocked his tee shot into the left bunker and, with his ball almost up against the bank, he had no chance of aiming near the pin.
He splashed out hoping to hold the back of the green, but his ball trickled over the back and into the rough, from where his first pitch did not clear the slope and rolled back down towards him.
Watson pitched to 15 feet and then shaved the hole with the putt before tapping in for an ugly triple-bogey which sent him plummeting down the leaderboard to two under par.
"That hole has been killing me all week, even in practice," Watson said. "I hit one bad shot all day and I just hit it on the par three there. If that swing would have been on another hole, I probably could have saved par or at least a bogey.
Watch the video above to see Bubba Watson make a mess of the Postage Stamp during day one of The 145th Open - live on our dedicated Sky Sports The Open channel.