Do you know how sometimes golf can be just plain cruel? One minute you’re cruising along, the next, you’re staring at a scorecard that looks like a train wreck. Well, that’s exactly what happened to PGA Tour rookie William Mouw at The American Express on Friday. Mouw was having a decent round until he reached the 16th hole of the PGA West’s Stadium Course. That’s when disaster struck.

Mouw’s troubles began when he pulled his approach shot left and into a massive bunker that runs down the side of the hole. The bunker is one of the deepest on the PGA Tour, sitting at 18 feet deep. Mouw did well to get out of it with his third shot, but things only got worse from there. He thinned his third shot over the green, chipped it back into the bunker, and then kept the ball in the bunker for his fifth and sixth shots. It was like he was stuck in a nightmare, unable to wake up. By the time he finally escaped the bunker, Mouw was staring at an octuple bogey 13. Ouch!

The incident was so shocking that Rick Golfs took to X and made a post about it, labeling it “Hard to watch”. “William Mouw today suffered through a horrifying 13 today on the 16th hole. The PGA Tour rookie simply couldn’t conquer San Andreas Fault, one of the most unique and punishing holes in golf”. read the post. The disastrous hole led to a nine-over 81, leaving Mouw in 152nd place. To make matters worse, he followed up the octuple bogey with a triple bogey on the par 3 17th. It was a tough day for the PGA Tour rookie, but hopefully, he can bounce back stronger.

Meanwhile, Charley Hoffman and Rico Hoey are tied for the lead, 16-under for the tournament. We’re sure you’ll be surprised to see what fans are saying about Mouw’s bizarre shot.

Fans tear down William Mouw on his bad luck at The American Express

Starting off strong with what this one fan said, “Poor William Mouw’s 13 looks like a detective board trying to crack a conspiracy”, while the other said, “If you’re having a tough day, at least you’re not William Mouw. Jesus. Week ruined.” Well, it is kind of true but before you go thinking that Willian Mouw is a bad golfer after his disastrous octuple bogey 13 let us introduce someone you might already know as the “world’s worst golfer” – Maurice Flitcroft. Flitcroft was a chain-smoking crane driver from Barrow-on-Furness, who despite never having played a round of golf before, attempted to qualify for The Open.

He drew the ire of the golfing elite and posted the worst score in the tournament’s history which earned him a place in golfing folklore and inspired a star-studded movie called The Phantom of The Open. One fan took a hilarious jab at the golfer and wrote, “Art. Not for William Mouw, but art”, while the other gave everyone a reality check. “William Mouw posted a 13 on hole 17 at The American Express today. Reminding us all that golf is hard.” And well, golf is hard and unpredictable, and sometimes that unpredictability can have painful consequences.

We mean just ask the fan struck in the head by Jon Rahm’s wayward tee shot on the 12th hole at Royal Liverpool during the Open Championship, an incident that left him dazed and Rahm offering a signed glove as an apology. Many fans were echoing the sentiments of Ricks Golf as one said, “I don’t want to watch this”, while the other said, “Very gut-wrenching.” Well, how was your experience of watching these disastrous shots from the rookie? Let us know in the comment section below!