After hitting his drive on the 3rd hole of the Minnesota State Open, Angus Flanagan sent his caddie to the parking lot at Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo.
He just broke his driver.
Rules allow a player to replace a club should it become damaged during the course of play (at no fault of the golfer – like banging the club into the ground or snapping it over your knee after another duck hook).
Fortunately, Flanagan’s good friend and college teammate from the University of Minnesota was on the bag. Doubly fortunate, he’d used his driver before.
Not only did Flanagan finish his round with a foreign driver, he did it in style. He set the course record with a 64 (ending with a gutsy eagle at the 18th) and won by two strokes over Minnesota amateur phenom Frankie Capan (a former Alabama college golfer, now heading to Florida Gulf Coast University in the fall).
It’s hard enough playing with your own sticks. But add in another club you aren’t familiar with – that’s quite the feat. Especially one that’s as important as the driver.
This is why we’ve nominated Flanagan for our first ever Gutsy Golf moment. With his win at the State Open, Flanagan also earned an exemption into the PGA Tour’s 3M Open in nearby Blaine, Minnesota. He played respectably but missed the cut by six strokes in his first ever start on the Tour.
Our hats off to Flanagan on playing gutsy golf!
@GopherMGolf Angus Flanagan’s first ever tee shot at a PGA tournament #3MOpen pic.twitter.com/SnPfsFkfjN
— Matt Kennedy (@matthewhkennedy) July 23, 2020