If Jhonattan Vegas wins a maiden major title at the PGA Championship this weekend, then he might reflect on a moment at the 17th hole today as pivotal. The Venezuelan teed off his second round as the overnight leaders, following a blistering seven-under-par 64 on Thursday.
The 40-year-old had picked up three further shots over his first 16 holes as he stood on the tee on the 227-yard par-three. The pin was in a difficult position on the front left of the green, with Vegas opting to play safe. However, his long iron looked to be missing the green on the right-hand side before an incredible stroke of luck.
His ball struck a rake and shot across the green, settling about 18 feet from the flag. The world No.30 seemed aware of his fortunate mistake, smiling with relief before going on to make par.
Sky Sports Golf commentator Laura Davies summarised the dramatic moment, forced to drastically change her tone as she said: “He wanted absolutely no part of that pin… Oh, hello, he’s hit the rake.
“Maybe it’s his weekend, as that is an incredible break. I mean, it wouldn’t have been an impossible chip anyway (from where the ball was landing), but now he’s got an outside birdie chance.”
Co-pundit Paul McGinley was heard chuckling on air, and when he did speak, he had one word for the incident: “Outrageous. That’s just outrageous Laura.”
However, the joy didn’t last long for Vegas. Despite making his three, he then undid a lot of his good work on the 18th by taking a double bogey six on the 18th, which dropped him back to eight-under-par.
It was still enough for Vegas, who has not made a cut at a major since the 2021 US Open, to hold onto the lead for the time being. He’s already made history at Quail Hollow after becoming the first Venezuelan to be in first place overnight at a major championship.