Is this the shortest putt ever missed in professional golf?
Korn Ferry Tour player Tom Whitney missed a putt from what appeared less than a foot during the NV5 Invitational
We have all missed short putts. That instant feeling of regret is a pain like no other.
Tom Whitney felt this pain, and then some, during the NV5 Invitational in Glenview, Illinois on the Korn Ferry Tour this week.
Whitney hit a solid lag putt to the hole which finished what looked to be less than a foot away from the cup.
Think we just saw the shortest miss in golf history, and the guys in the booth can’t believe it @NV5Invite @KornFerryTour https://t.co/QwubmF3m2d | #BarstoolNV5 pic.twitter.com/gVrQANltUs
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) July 28, 2023
The rest would usually be a formality for a club golfer, let alone a professional golfer on one of America’s best tours.
Whitney went to pick his ball out after hitting the tap-in – before it curled around the lip and rolled to about two feet away.
When you think about other pro golfers who have missed abnormally short putts, Hale Irwin comes to mind from the 1983 Open Championship, as does Brandt Snedeker’s short-range debacle at the 2009 BMW Championship.
Ryan French, Monday Q Info to you on Twitter, was caddying for Whitney at the Glen Club and tweeted afterward:
“Tom came over to me handed me the putter, and on the way to the next tee, I just told him he was hitting it great and forget about it and we would make it up.
“(He also fist pumped a tap in on the next hole).”
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Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spoken to the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson, to name just a few.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
