Cam Young’s pursuit of a first PGA Tour win derailed by a snapped driver

As a golfer trying to win on the PGA Tour, you’ve got to avoid cracking under pressure. You’ve also got to avoid your equipment cracking under pressure, and on Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Cam Young failed at least the second part of that equation. Following an errant drive on the 14th hole, trailing the leader Akshay Bhatia by one at the time, Young pulled a strange maneuver where he placed the head of his driver on the ground, leaned forward in a way that made it bend, and managed to crack the shaft. Watch:

It’s unclear what he was doing—Trevor Immelman picked up on the driver being cracked right away, and the crack was audible on the broadcast, but the “why” of it is still a mystery. Was he frustrated or angry? Most clubs broken in anger involve a much more demonstrative spectacle than what we saw from Young. But if it wasn’t his irritation coming out, it’s hard to understand what he was doing, or what he thought might happen when he bent the club.

Young is one of the best players on the PGA Tour without a victory, and the cracked driver came amid his latest chance to erase that distinction. Young was 17 under and one back on 14, and despite the drive, he still made par on the hole (though he made an eagle and two birdies in his previous rounds, so par is arguably a step back). With his driver unavailable, he made bogey on 16, but then hit two straight 3-woods to the green on the par-5 17th and settled for par. Trailing by two shots, though, with five players ahead of him, it’s likely a case of too little, too late.