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They say it’s better to be lucky than good, but Robert Carlson sure was on Saturday.
After setting a course record 63, Carlson shares his 54-hole lead on the Tradition Zone with Steve Stricker as he looks to make his first PGA Tour Champions win a major.
But that did not come without a hint of controversy over the final hole.
The 18th hole at Greystone Golf and Country Club is a 526 yard par 5 par par 5 with a small stream running to the left and behind the green. But this week and every time the course hosts the tradition, the PGA Tour puts tarmac on the hill between the back of the green and the water, effectively taking it out of play.
The pin was tucked into the back of the green tucked behind the only bunker of the green on the right side. Just before Carlson took the club back, NBC’s Robert Damron mentioned how the cellar was playing softly, meaning a beeline at the pin could result in a deadlocked lie.
Carlson didn’t take any chances. And then some.
He started his second left putt off the pin, caught a flyer from the rough light and flew it well over the green, catching the runway on the fly.
The ball just below the metal rails hit the seated part of the grandstand and actually made a fairly soft bounce back into the green.
“How do you separate the stands?” NBC analyst Lanny Wadkins said. “What a play Carlson is. When you walk your way, they walk your way.”
There’s no way to know if Carlson’s ball flew down the ridge and went into the pond behind the green, but there’s a good chance he knew long ago that the runway was a few feet from the green.
Eagle’s long putt didn’t land as planned, hitting it about eight feet, but he made the return for the course record.