PGA Tour winner Adam Svensson made what may turn out to be a career-altering mistake during his U.S. Open qualifier.
As the longest day in golf unfolded, with the 36-hole U.S. Open final qualifying taking place across North America on Monday, the most shocking moment came in Ontario, Canada, in an eight-player playoff with three spots in the year’s third major up for grabs.
The playoff eventually dwindled to three, with PGA Tour players Mx McGreevy, Matt Wallace and Svensson battling for the final automatic spot into next week’s U.S. Open.
LIV GOLF COULD REPORTEDLY RUN OUT OF MONEY BEFORE WRAPPING UP 2026 SEASON AFTER SAUDIS PULL FUNDING
McGreevy went on to earn the spot with a birdie on the playoff hole, but there was still business left to be done whether Wallace or Svensson would be the first alternate from the site.
Svensson ultimately, and mistakenly, made that process as straightforward as possible.
Wallace was already in for par on the playoff hole, but Svensson did not realize that if he went on to make his par putt, the two would have continued to play on to determine who would earn the coveted first alternate spot.
Instead, Svensson walked over to his ball mark, picked it up and unknowingly gifted Wallace the first alternate position.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
As Golf Channel’s Brandon de Jonge noted on the broadcast, there is a very good chance that Wallace will ultimately get into the U.S. Open as the first alternate, with other players already in the field inevitably having to back out of the event for various reasons.
As a former Tour winner who has well over 150 professional starts under his belt, Svensson should have been more aware of the situation.
Having said that, it is a unique situation with the playoff beginning with eight players coming off the back end of a 36-hole marathon.
It’s understandable for Svensson’s brain to not be exactly firing at peak levels and realizing what was at stake after McGreevy birdied the hole and knocked him out of the running to earn an automatic spot on the field. Nevertheless, it’s a moment that Svensson would like to forget.
Read the full article here