Ford’s career debut at the $9.6 million Cognizant Classic was a prime example of how thin the margin of error is between calamity and genius on the PGA Tour. A few minutes later, he was rewriting the record books.
A nightmare incident unfolded at the par-3 17th hole at PGA National, where it looked like Ford was falling apart before the spectators.
He faced the course’s most notorious water challenges, and after several attempts, recorded a dreadful quadruple bogey and plummeted on the leaderboard.
The sight of a young pro enduring frustration while looking for dry land drew some harsh commentary from the golf community. Adam Stanley, via @adamtalksgolf, seemed to capture the viewers’ collective wince by posting, “Just WD [withdraw] at this point”.
The incident that provoked the comment was an extreme and sad instance of “blow-up” for the former Fred Haskins Award winner. After a decent start to the season, Ford encountered a sudden shift, where it appeared he was wrestling against his own swing as the ball continuously vanished into the water in Florida.
For a young professional trying to secure his spot on the Tour, such a public breakdown could prove defining for the season. However, instead of taking the advice to withdraw, Ford opted to tough it out through the last holes of his first round.
His attitude contributed to one of the most remarkable statistical reversals in recent history. By not giving up, he brought upon himself a remarkable series of wins that immediately changed the “nightmare” clips in the heads of golf fans.
From a Quadruple Bogey to Back-to-Back Eagles
In a remarkable display of golfing skill, Ford managed to turn a near-certain score disaster into a respectable score, following his quadruple bogey by making three consecutive holes without a putter, thanks to a series of amazing hole-outs, including two eagles in a row.
One of the eagles that stood out from the rest was the hole out from 144 yards on the 2nd hole. Adding to that was a hole out from 91 feet and another eagle on the 3rd. This was a crazy reversal of fortune with excellent iron play, then silky touch off the green.
Ford somehow cleared the disaster from his qualifying score, and that ability proved to everyone that he could demonstrate the ball-striking ability that earned him high praise at UNC.
As the tournament nears the weekend, Ford is currently tied for 68th place after finishing 1-over par in his first rounds.
Although he is currently 10 strokes behind the leader, Austin Smotherman, who is at -9, Ford’s historic comebacks allow him to keep his hopes of making the cut and moving up the leaderboards.