The PGA Tour moved to Florida to the Champion Course at PGA National in Palm Beach.  The Champion Course might have as much water acreage as Pine Valley’s array of waste bunkers without rakes.  The course rewards accuracy and ability to navigate wind that impacts club selection.  Austin Smotherman had an eye-opening 62 in the first round to set the pace and was in position for his first victory, but Shane Lowry nailed a 63 in the third round to catch Smotherman.  Meanwhile Nico Echavarria lurked one shot back going into the final round.  The course was too difficult for the rest of the field to catch one of these three guys.  It looked like a tossup with a slight nod to Lowry due to his championship pedigree as a Ryder Cupper and Open Champion.  Lowry has also relocated his family from the chill of Ireland to the sunny confines of Palm Beach so he was highly motivated to win this one in front of the family.

The gods of golf decided this outcome.  Lowry, as expected, leapt into the lead and it looked like the wily veteran would overcome his competitors.  Smotherman played reasonably well but couldn’t execute enough shots to chase Lowry down the stretch.  Meanwhile, Echavarria was making a run and the tournament ended up in the mouth of the infamous Bear Trap.  The Bear Trap consists of holes 15-17 where there is more water than land, and every shot has an intimidation factor especially with wind in play.  Echavarria came to the par 3, 17th having survived 15 and 16 with pars and hoisted his tee dangerously close to the water–one fade bounce and it would be wet; however, the gods of golf intervened as the ball plopped ten feet to the right of the pin, inches from a watery grave.  I’m convinced that the gods planted enough moisture on that green position to stop this ball and stop it did.  Next came an improbable birdie attempt of about ten feet with a few bumps in the way, but the gods steered that ball right into the hole for a birdie 2.

Lowrie still stood 3 ahead as he took the 16th tee after a routine par on the first leg of the Bear Trap.  On 16, the water is present all the way down the right side with plenty of room on the left.  Simply hit the ball to the left for a routine approach shot to the green.  The gods smirked and said no, somehow Lowry hit one of the worst shots I have ever seen him hit floundering deep in the pond on the right.  The strike of the ball looked weird and implausible from the likes of an Open Champion–it seemed like the ghost of Jean VanDeVelde arising from Carnoustie and shoving his iron shot into the water.  He would make double bogey and the lead would be 1 shot.  On the 17th tee, Lowry looked dazed and confused as he contemplated the dangerous tee shot over the waves on the lake.  There was a haze in his eyes as the struck ball was a repeat of the drive on 16–another ball in the drink and another double bogey–he was now 1 behind and he knew it was over.  These invisible spirits that populate the golf shafts of professionals have a mind of their own–you are going to mess it up and you really don’t why or how it happened in these circumstances.  A crestfallen Lowry could not understand how this could happen–perhaps this god was a recently deported immigrant from Ireland–who knows–it makes no sense that a player of this caliber could have consecutive double bogeys to lose a golf tournament.  Lowry was clearly disappointed  but faced the media music with aplomb and class, which describes who he is.  He understands that sometimes things happen that you can’t understand. He will replay those two tee shots for a long time but put them behind him.  Perhaps the fade yank–was the work of an unknown sprite leaping into the shaft of the club–the gods wanted Echavarria in the winner’s circle.  Echavarria played well and certainly earned a wonderful victory but when that green on 17 held that shot, it was a gift from somewhere ethereal.  To his credit, he drained the putt and capped a well deserved victory.

Lowry’s defeat was so telling that he was the feature of ESPN’s Bad Beats betting segment on Scott Van Pelt’s show.  Bad Beats always features improbable football and basketball scores amongst the betting public.  Lowry is the first golfer that I have seen feature in this segment as I believe he was 1800 to 1 to win when he approached the 16th tee.

The Bear Trap prevailed again.  Through the third round, the three holes had a combined score of 125 over par, with 33 double bogeys and 46 balls hit in the water.  Unfortunately Shane Lowry was 4 over for these three holes–not so bad-but 4 over in the final round.

Somewhere, Jack Nicklaus was grinning as his design of these holes determined yet another PGA championship in Palm Beach.