A rare scene unfolded at a professional golf tournament when a player missed a putt of less than 2 centimeters. Sebastian Muñoz of Colombia, competing on the LIV Golf circuit, was the protagonist of the embarrassing mistake.
Muñoz carded a 5-under-par 65 in the first round of the LIV Golf Hong Kong tournament (total purse $30 million) at Hong Kong Golf Club (par 70) on Friday, finishing in a six-way tie for 10th place. While a solid result, he could have ended the opening day higher on the leaderboard had he not wasted a stroke.
The incident occurred on the 16th hole (par 4). After hitting a birdie putt from just over 2 meters, Muñoz watched as the ball stopped precariously on the edge of the hole. He attempted a tap-in to finish, but inexplicably, the bottom of his putter head grazed the green behind the ball, causing him to miss it entirely. After dropping the ball into the hole with his second stroke, he displayed a look of deep disappointment. A birdie opportunity had instantly transformed into a bogey.
Golf rules define a stroke as "the forward movement of the club made to strike the ball." While the incident did not escalate into controversy as Muñoz immediately acknowledged his mistake, it dealt a significant blow to his round. Having been 6-under-par through 15 holes with one eagle and four birdies without a bogey, the 16th-hole mishap appeared to break his momentum. He three-putted for another bogey on the 17th hole (par 4) and had to settle for recovering one stroke on the final 18th hole (par 4).
Golf fans praised Muñoz for acknowledging his mistake, leaving comments such as "Golf is a test of character before it is a test of skill" and "I respect Muñoz for showing why golf is a gentleman's sport."
Muñoz, 33, is familiar to Korean fans after defeating Im Sung-jae (28) in a playoff at the 2019 PGA Tour Sanderson Farms Championship. He joined LIV Golf in 2023.