AUSTIN, Texas – As he walked off the sixth tee on Wednesday at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Luke List “swiped” his putter into what he thought was a bush. It was a wall.
List’s putter bent slightly, which meant he wasn’t allowed to employ it the rest of the round. Using a wedge to putt, he lost his opening-day match to Justin Thomas, 2 down.
“Stupid on my part,” List said. “I’ll get the club fixed and go on to my next two matches.”
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Despite his putting disadvantage, List pushed Thomas to the 18th hole thanks to birdies at Nos. 13, 15 and 16, which included a chip-in from 18 feet at 15. Thomas was 3 up with four holes to play and managed to birdie the last, but it was far from stress-free.
“I was thinking about it, how bad that would hurt if I couldn’t get it done,” Thomas said. “He hit some great putts and he made some good ones when he needed to.”
The situation also prompted Thomas to change his strategy on the greens, with not nearly as many conceded putts as normal.
“He putted probably two or three putts I wouldn’t have made him putt with a putter,” Thomas said. “[No. 13] was a short putt he’s probably going to make. It had a lot of break. But 12, that putt was 2 feet straight uphill. But I was like he’s got a wedge, so I’m going to make him putt it.”
Source: Internet
