Sometimes the golfing Gods are smiling on you and incredible things can happen from some really bad swings - as Michael Kim found out in the first round of the Black Desert Championship.
Kim hit not one but two tee shots into the lava rocks and scrub land way left of the par-five 18th fairway at the Black Desert Resort - yet following one lucky break after another, two rules officials and 20 minutes of discussions, he ended up with a putt for birdie on the green.
That would've been too much to ask and when he Kim tapped in for a par his smile said it all - that was a one of the luckiest par fives he's ever recorded.
They say there are no pictures on the scorecard but if ever a hole deserved to be illustrated it's this one.
“I think, in the end, after whipping two tee shots into the lava down the left, if you told him, hey, you can have five, he would have ran to the green," said commentator Mark Immelman on the PGA Tour Live broadcast.
The chain of events were extraordinary, as Kim pulled his first and then provisional drives well left of the fairway and into the lava rocks - with the first huge slice of luck being just to find his original tee shot.
From there it went deep into the world of rules and more rules as Kim's ball stuck in a hole in the ground in among all the rocks and vegetation.
Taking an unplayable lie seemed nailed-on, but Kim called over a rules official to investigate the possibility that a burrowing animal had made it, which would hand him a free drop.
After a discussion over the radio with another rules guru, Kim was then given the free drop due to the abnormal course condition rule - in another huge slice of luck.
“I feel like there’s probably half the field who wouldn’t have even thought of doing that,” said TV analyst Matt Every.
Golf gods on Michael Kim's side today on 18 😅Drive and provisional both go into the native area...Has a 12 ft putt for birdie 😲 pic.twitter.com/EnhsOmYOG6October 10, 2024
A shot out of the scrub, an iron to the green and then Kim saw a birdie putt lip-out before making the most eventful of pars.
"Welcome to the rules of golf, folks," joked Every. "You can drive it in the middle of the fairway in a divot and not get relief, then drive it in jail - literal jail - and get a free drop. What a game.”
Every was astounded at just how fortunate Kim was, adding: “I mean, this is an all-world break. It truly is.”
“It’s also all-world because his provisional went into the jungle as well. I mean, we could potentially be saving four shots here, it feels like.”
Immelman agreed, and was actually pleased Kim did not manage to make a four: “If he makes four here, that is like daylight robbery.”
Kim acknowledged his good fortune in a social media post after his round, which read: “On my way to buy a lotto ticket…. Got some breaks today!”
