Riddle: How can someone get a birdie and a double bogey on the same hole?
Professional golfer Kelly Kraft did just that when he was was playing the par-3 14th hole on Friday at the Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. He hit a 7-iron toward the green, but his ball hit a bird in midair and plopped into the water. Kraft went on to double bogey the hole — and missed the cut by just one stroke.
“Kraft told PGATour.com the bad break cost him the cut,” Fox News reported. “He said his tee shot felt perfect and was on a good line until fate took over.”
“It cost me the cut, most likely,” he said. “There was a helping wind, and I hit a 7-iron, caught it perfect.
“It was probably 30 yards off the tee box and this giant, black bird swooped in front of it and hit it and the ball fell 20 yards short in the water.
“It would’ve been in the middle of the green. It might have been close. I got screwed.”
Kraft’s group asked for a ruling, figuring the player would simply re-tee without penalty. Instead, because the bird is not a man-made object, Kraft had to play it as a ball in the water.
The Texan said a large black bird flew off unharmed after it was hit with the glancing blow.
PETA, of course, got involved.
“PETA is glad the bird is OK and sorry Kelly Kraft didn’t advance, but that’s not the bird’s fault,’’ PETA senior vice president Lisa Lange said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports Saturday. “Of course, he would have advanced if he’d played better on other holes — so practice, practice, practice.
“To tournament holders: If animals are ever injured, they must be taken to a veterinarian right away.”
Kraft, though, took the whole thing in stride.