There is never a good place for a sh*nk to crop up, but some places are definitely worse than others. Ian Poulter is no stranger to the hosel rocket and he had one sneak up on him at one of the worst times imaginable.
Playing the famous stadium par-3 16th at TPC Scottsdale on Friday, Poulter flushed one off of the shaft of his short iron on the 163-yard hole and sent the ball traveling horizontally into the stands that thankfully were clearing out for the day.
Golfweek.com’s Kevin Casey had more.
The worst place for a European player to hit a shank? Well, the Ryder Cup on U.S. soil would be a prime candidate for No. 1. But the infamously rowdy par-3 16th at TPC Scottsdale, where hordes of fans in grandstands tend to boo players if they simply miss the green, would be up there as well.
Ian Poulter experienced that nightmare Friday during the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
The Englishman produced an ugly shank right into the grandstands at No. 16. And yes, he was certainly booed.
The good thing for Poulter was this happened near day’s end, which means the crowd viewing (and heckling) was likely smaller than if this happened earlier on Friday.
Still, this footage gives a better idea that, nonetheless, the booing remained strong at this point:
Poulter appeared to take the whole shank ordeal in very good humor. so that’s nice to see.
Poulter on 16: “It’s not my first shank, and it won’t be my last shank. That’s it. I laugh at it. It’s pretty funny.”
— Will Gray (@WillGrayGC) February 3, 2018
And apparently, to make matters even stranger, a spectator threw Poulter’s ball back into play!
They threw it back! They chanted and a dude actually threw it back onto the fairway https://t.co/P5z0k2MIQV
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) February 3, 2018
Poulter ended up bogeying the hole and firing a 69 to finish 36 holes at 3 under. He is onto the weekend.
And while we can’t imagine Poulter relished going through this experience, he’s certainly been through the gauntlet now at 16.
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