Many golf fans bemoan the fact that some of the best players in the world get to travel around the globe, play the best courses on Earth and still are able to find things to complain about.
However, this week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, two pros, in particular, could be forgiven for levying a bit of criticism after having to play from a garbage dump during the first round of the tournament.
Shane Lowry was 8-under par on his round when he reached the par-4 5th hole at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Yanking his drive well left of the fairway — he only hit four fairways (!) on the day — Lowry’s ball came to rest near some interesting obstacles, as SB Nation’s Brendan Porath noted.
I’m a HUGE fan of this new trash heap hazard they’re experimenting with on the European Tour (via @AshTArmstrong) pic.twitter.com/9s4GVUFotu
— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) January 16, 2019
Porath’s colleague, James Dator, then did some Google Earth investigative work and found that the fifth hole, which is on the edge of the property appears to have a piece of land that appears to be a catch-all for outdoor furniture, barriers and the like.
The mess was no issue for Lowry who went on to make par on the hole, and birdie two of his last four to tie the course record, a 10-under par 62.
The first-round leader wasn’t the only player to find the trash, however. Thomas Detry went left off of No. 5 tee as well and he and his caddie needed to remove a stationary bike in order to play his second shot.
“Would have already been the par-save of the year… but I’ll take a bogey from the middle of the dumpster,” Detry wrote.
The Belgian would shoot even par in the first round, but it was a 72 with a great story attached.
