"Obviously, two shots have cost me two tournaments. But at least they're costing me tournaments."
/Steve Elling and Bob Harig both looked at Robert Allenby's unfortunate 14th hole that quite possibly cost the Aussie the Farmer's Insurance Open and more importantly, almost assuredly cost me a shot at breaking into the top 400 of the PGA Tour Fantasy race. At least I have a nice lead on the four "experts." So I got that going for me.
Elling on Allenby:
He had 162 yards to the flag from the right rough and wanted to hit an 8-iron, but his caddie Mike Waite suggested using a 6. Allenby blinked hard.
"In all honesty, I was thinking 8, and ended up hitting 7, and that was the end of the story," the 38-year-old veteran said.
It's unclear whether his ball has landed.
"I think it's still going," he laughed. "It's going for a surf."
Ninety minutes later, Allenby was still kicking himself for hitting the wrong club. He knew in his gut a flier would be a death sentence. There's nothing behind the green but a cliff. Afterward, he wanted to dive off it, too.
"If it does jump, I'm in the s---, and it's game over," he said. "Then, it was so hard to get the momentum back."
But by playing it, they are trying to avoid the fate that befell Allenby -- who nonetheless supports the new grooves rule.
"You know what, I don't have a problem with it," Allenby said. "Obviously, two shots have cost me two tournaments. But at least they're costing me tournaments."
