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Florida golf course remains open despite sinkhole opening up

DSprofileby:Dustin Schutte07/01/23

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golf ball driver
(Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

One Florida golf course is putting new meaning into the phrase “playing through.” Despite a sinkhole opening up at a club in The Villages, Fla., golfers will be permitted to continue to tee it up.

Per The Villages-News, a sinkhole opened in the fairway of 6th hole at the Tarpon Boil Executive Golf Course. Ironically, the real-life hazard is located near a water hazard on the course.

Concerned that players could potentially injure themselves in the sinkhole? No worries! The course has roped off the area with bright tape and cones. It’s better than nothing, I guess.

So, if you plan to play this course in The Villages, be sure to avoid the hazards … that applies to the golf ball and yourself.

On the topic of unique hazards in golf …

A sinkhole on a golf course in Florida might not be everyday news, but it’s certainly not unique. You know what is, though? A PGA Tour star admitted that a “bathroom” emergency hindered his play during a tournament.

That’s an entirely different kind of hazard.

Rickie Fowler opened the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Thursday in impressive fashion, shooting a 5-under-par 67 in the first round. But his afternoon could’ve been even better … but nature called.

Fowler carded bogeys on back-to-back holes to end his opening day at the event. When asked what hindered him to close out the round, the 34-year-old provided an honest answer.

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“To be perfectly honest, I had to go to the bathroom pretty badly,” Fowler said of his bogey-bogey finish on Day 1. “There weren’t many bathrooms the last five holes, so I was a little shaky coming in. Not to necessarily blame the finish on that, but it didn’t help.”

That’s something that will certainly hinder your round. It’s also incredibly honest — which is refreshing in the world of sports.

While Fowler’s round didn’t end the way he had hoped, it hasn’t affected his play all that much through the first two rounds. He carded a 7-under-par 65 on Friday, getting to -12 for the tournament entering the weekend.

He sits just one shot behind co-leaders Taylor Moore and Taylor Pendrith (-13) — bathroom troubles and all.

Fowler has performed well on the golf course over the past few weeks, nearly winning his first career major championship at the U.S. Open. If he’s able to climb to the top of the leaderboard of the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Sunday, it will be his first PGA Tour win since 2019.