19 November 2023 , 17:59
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Dutch golf star Joost Luiten lost three of his clubs up at a tree during an epic meltdown at the DP World Tour Championship at the Earth Course in Dubai.
Luiten was one of the DP World Tour's top 50 players to qualify for the season-ending tournament, but it is fair to say things did not go to plan for the 37-year-old. Luiten was on the hunt for one of 10 PGA Tour cards on offer at the season finale, but his emotions got the better of him eight holes in.
The Dutch golfer frustrations boiled over following a bogey at the par-four eighth, as Luiten trudged his way off the green before launching his driver up in the air from his bag.
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Things quickly took a turn for the worse, as his driver ended up stuck in a tree between the green and the ninth tee. This was only the start of the drama for Luiten though, who attempted to retrieve his big stick by throwing a number of his other clubs in a bid to knock it down.
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Sadly for the 37-year-old a further two irons suffered the same fate as his driver, and were also left stuck in the tree. Luiten then turned his attention to a nearby stick, as well as the group scoreboard but his efforts were in vain as he was forced to head to the ninth tee three clubs short.
Golf fans watching from home could not believe their eyes, with one writing on X (formerly Twitter ): "A mistake you should only make once. He’s managed to do it three times," accompanied with a laughing face emoji. A second added: "Can we overlay the Benny hill music?"
It had been an opening nine holes to forget for Luiten who found himself three-over-par for the day at the turn, only adding to his club woes. Fortunately for the Dutchman a group of volunteers were able to retrieve the missing driver and two irons, and handed them back to the world No. 121 on the 10th hole.
Having his clubs back in the bag seem to rally the 37-year-old on after the turn, as he played his final nine holes of the season in two-under to finish the week at three-over-par. On the back of his improved finish Luiten saw the funny side of his club-throwing woes post-round.
He told GolfMagic : "I just taught my driver how to fly, it just couldn't stick the landing and it stayed up the tree! Tried to get my TaylorMade Stealth Driver down by throwing other clubs at it and they stuck as well. It was just a frustrating week, not a lot went my way!"