ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA. — Golf can drive even the most mild-mannered people crazy and the best players in the world are not immune to the frustrations.
One small temper tantrum resulted in a unexpected gift for PGA Tour photographer Stan Badz during the second round of the RSM Classic on Friday.
Andrew "Beef" Johnston of England was playing the fourth hole of the Sea Island Club when he hit his tee shot with a 3-wood into the hazard on the left. Johnston, who eventually finished last chucked the club into the marsh, had a few choice words for himself, and re-teed with another club and found the fairway.
After making a triple-bogey on the hole, Johnston was approached by Badz — who had been able to pluck the offending club from the water. Johnston's reply was "keep it."
Not only that, Johnston gave Badz the clubhead cover.
Johnston shot 77 and finished the tournament at 10-over par.
Caddie change
Austin Cook leads Brian Gay by one shot in the RSM Classic, and he's doing it with the help of Gay's former caddie, Kip Henley.
Cook, a Tour rookie who played golf at Arkansas, was connected to Henley by a club pro in his home town of Little Rock who had worked for Henley at another course (Henley has been a club pro in the past). Cook and Henley began working together in the first Web.com Finals event, and they missed the cut.
However, Cook finished among the top-10 in the next three events, including the Web.com Tour Championship at the Atlantic Beach Country Club.
"It's been going well," Cook said. Cook said Henley has introduced him to numerous people on the Tour such as other players and caddies, easing his transition as a rookie.
"He knows everybody," Cook said of Henley. "With him being out here so long, it's not like I'm completely the new kid on the block. He's introduced me to a lot of people, so it's just making me feel comfortable out here."
Cook missed only one green and matched the best opening 36-hole score in the tournament at 14-under 128.
Amateur playing well
Ole Miss junior Braden Thornberry shot 64 at the Seaside Course and is tied for 23rd at 6-under. He has won eight college tournaments and finished fourth at the FedEx St. Jude Classic last season.
Thornberry also won the NCAA individual championship by four shots.
Fathers and sons struggle
Tournament host Davis Love III, who has been experiencing hip problems, shot 73 at the Seaside and missed the RSM cut for the second year in a row. His son Dru also missed the cut with rounds of 76-73.
Bill Haas missed his first RSM cut in five starts with his father Jay as his caddie.
This article is written by Garry Smits from The Florida Times-Union and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].