Mac Boucher was given a harsh reality check in the first round of the International Series Thailand, with the golf influencer admitting “pro golf is hard”.
Boucher, a Canadian former professional turned golf content creator, is competing at the Asian Tour event after receiving a sponsor’s invite.
However, things didn’t go as he would’ve hoped in the first round after carding a 10-over 80 at the Thai Country Club in Bangkok, including seven bogeys, two doubles and just one birdie.
His round leaves him dead last on the standings in 149th after day one, 17 shots behind the leaders.
After his round, Boucher said on his Instagram account that “pro golf is hard” and it “humbles the s*** out of you”.
“I’m deserving of all the hate after that round out there,” he wrote to his almost 485,000 followers. “Putting yourself out there online can be tough. Gotta keep it real.”
In a video in the same Instagram post, Boucher summed up his round, saying he was “pretty disappointed”.
“I birdied the first hole, but it was kind of downhill from there. When I quit pro golf I was really struggling with this weird yip in my swing where my hip fires so early, I get stuck and I hit these crazy block cuts. That came out today out of nowhere; I haven't felt it in years.
“Pretty disappointed obviously, but it is what it is. Tomorrow's a new day. Hopefully I can come out and better that score a little bit. I did have a little bit of a debacle with the driver – broke it on the seventh hole. I took a big rip at one, wrapped around my shoulder blades and it just snapped and broke. So I had to use a replacement shaft that someone gave me, which I didn't hit very well for the rest of the day. It is what it is, tomorrow's a new day. Pro golf is hard.”
Dubbed the ‘Sling God’ by fans, Boucher is known for his outrageous trick shots, in particular his ability to shape (or sling) the golf ball with any club in his bag.
He previously played on the PGA Tour Canada before wrist surgery in 2016 officially put an end to his pro career, with his social media following taking off in 2021.
In a comment on his Instagram post, he said he even played a full par 3 during his round in Bangkok "with driver only".
Fellow golf influencer Luke Kwon, also a former pro turned content creator, fared significantly better in his first round, carding a two-under 68 to sit in a tie for 57th.
Kwon, who rose to fame on YouTube with popular channel Good Good and has since gone solo, made the cut in his Asian Tour debut last week at the Black Mountain Championship, where he finished in a tie for 65th with a score of six under.
Kwon won the PGA Tour’s inaugural Creator Classic in August, a tournament which featured 16 golf influencers including Boucher, who finished in 15th place.
Charlie Lindh, Jed Morgan and Maverick Antcliff share the lead on seven under after the first round of the International Series Thailand, which has a prize fund of $2 million and features several players from LIV Golf.
The leader at the end of the Asian Tour's International Series Rankings will earn a spot in the 2025 LIV Golf League.
