It’s no secret that pros on the PGA Tour are playing for ridiculous money, but all those zeroes take on a different meaning when you see someone light a bunch of money on fire down the stretch on a Sunday.
Unfortunately for Nate Lashley, he lost out on upwards of $500,000 on Sunday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, largely on the par-4 16th hole.
Having driven the ball exquisitely Saturday and Sunday (26/28), Lashley was tied for the lead with three holes to go and found himself in a green-light position from 152 yards out in the center of the fairway. His approach flew too far, landing near the pin and hopping over the back of the green, leaving himself with a short-sided chip.
Lashley was unable to stop his chip near the pin and left himself just inside 13 feet for par. Then he had 3’9″ for bogey. Then he had 2’9″ for double bogey. Then he had 3’7″ for a triple bogey.
4 putts from 13 feet.
Nate Lashley was tied for the lead before this triple bogey. pic.twitter.com/kGR3YQbUzG
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 14, 2021
The triple-bogey 7 dropped him from 16-under par to 13-under, effectively ending his chances at winning the tournament. He would go on to birdie the par-5 18th hole to post 14-under par, four shots behind eventual winner Daniel Berger.
Perhaps worse than the four-putt is the breakdown of cash Lashley let slip through his hands on the 16th green.
The T5 finish paid Lashley $301,275, but a three-putt on the 16th theoretically would have put at 15-under and in a three-way tie for third, worth $413,400. Had he two-putted for bogey, he would have finished at 16-under and in a two-way tie for second, worth $694,200. And if were able to hole the 13-footer for par, a potential 17-under finish would have put him one stroke ahead of Maverick McNealy and earned him $850,200, a difference of $548,925.
For someone like Lashley, who had only made $3,772,238 in career earnings coming into the week, the missed opportunity and income stings a little more.
