US Open winner uncorks a wild yip move, and the internet had thoughts
Lucas Glover on Thursday at the American Express tournament.
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He putt. And there’s no, as they say, images on the scorecard, but a five-second video struck a chord.
As here:
And here:
And so on. You can Google “Lucas Glover punch” either twitter-search the same topic for more. Although despite the wealth of information, you may be wondering this:
What’s that?
Technically, that’s easy! It was a 3-foot par putt by Lucas Glover, his 2009 US Open winner, during Thursday’s first round of the amexpress tournament. But as you can see, perhaps, there is more. Or is it less? On the putt, Glover took his blade back with a flick of his wrist, then flicked it forward with another twist and his ball rolled in.
Although now you may have more questions…
Has Lucas Glover pitched this way before?
Yes, most notably at last year’s Honda Classicwhere it was recorded and shared across the internet in much the same way as this week’s putt, and you can watch it below.
Is it legit?
In the Honda putt, we delve into this. In short, yes, and this is what we wrote:
Under Rule 10.1you will see the “stroke” defined as follows:
A stroke is made by just hitting a ball with the head of a club. The fundamental challenge is directing and controlling the movement of the entire club by freely swinging the club without anchoring it.
In the associated language under 10.1a/1the rules describe three methods that do not constitute a “hit”:
Luke Kerr-Dineen
– A player holes a short putt by striking the ball with the bottom of the clubhead, using a motion similar to that used to make a shot in billiards or shuffleboard. Moving the ball like this is a push.
– A player moves the stick across the surface of the ground by pulling it towards him or her. Moving the ball like that is a scratch.
– A player slides a stick under and very close to the ball. The player then picks up and moves the ball using a forward and upward motion. Moving the ball like this is a first.
Which brings us back to Glover. After Honda’s putt fell, a small group of commentators on social media speculated that the putt was more of a push, which should have constituted a two-stroke penalty. And while it may appear that way to the naked eye, when you slow down the video, you can see the tiniest of backswings. You can also see Glover’s arms move (slightly), which means this was a legitimate shot by the rules of golf, fair and square.
Why?
It’s a yip move. Golf Digest Luke Kerr-Dineen expertly noted that Glover putt “traditionally” on at least two other occasions Thursday at the American Express, and the putt in question was an outlier. Although at least it was low some control. After all, there was this from Glover:
Of course, it was not always so. Glover has been a world-class player; In addition to his Open victory, he also won the 2005 Funai Classic and the 2011 Wells Fargo Championship. But then he got golf into his head, because that’s what golf does.
But Glover worked on it, like Michael Bamberger wonderfully described here. And Glover won again, in 2021 at the John Deere Classic.
However, there is a quote in Bamberger’s article that perhaps best sums up our question. It comes from Glover’s agent, Mac Barnhardt.
“You can’t cure yourself of yips, everyone has them. But you can minimize them.”
And on Thursday, Glover putt.
