WILMINGTON, Del. — It seemed hopeless for Max Homa.
He was stuck in a sand trap, about 50 feet from the 10th hole during the first round of the BMW Championship on Thursday. Homa had just shanked his approach shot, and he was so mad at himself that he stood there on the fairway doing invisible swings, while his playing partner Jordan Spieth lined up his shot.
As Homa hit his shot out of the bunker, he watched as the ball rolled onto the green, then in the hole for the most unlikely birdie.
“How did he hit that shot?” Landenberg, Pennsylvania, resident and golf fan Crystal Ward said. “It was exhilarating. When it went in, you’re like, ‘You watch this on TV from The Masters. You don’t watch this in Delaware.’”
And yet, those are the kind of shots that more than an estimated 100,000 fans are being treated to this weekend at the Wilmington Country Club, the host of the first-ever PGA Tour event in Delaware.
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Ward, a golfer herself, was asked if she could imagine herself making a shot like that. She replied with a laugh: “I usually throw the ball out of the bunker.”
Added fan Bob Eckroade, who was standing nearby: “It’s a whole different game from how the professionals play to us recreational golfers. It’s fun to see shots like that at the highest level.”
The BMW Championship is the second of three playoff events for the FedEx Cup championship. The initial group of 125 golfers for the first event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship held last weekend in Memphis, were ranked on a points system.
That was whittled down to 70 for the BMW Championship; only 68 are in the field after Cameron Smith and Tommy Fleetwood withdrew. After this weekend, the top 30 will advance to the Tour Championship in Atlanta next weekend to compete for the $18 million first-place prize.
So yes, there’s a lot on the line.
And the masses couldn’t wait to take advantage over a sun-splashed weekend with temperatures mostly in the 80s. There was something for everyone, such as plenty of concession stands, grandstands and even a putting area for kids.
But mostly, the fans were there for the golf.
That’s what brought Joe Crandall from Baltimore to the course early Thursday morning. He stood in the pavilion on the 18th green, and watched as first-round leader Keegan Bradley hit his approach shot onto the green, about 30 feet from the hole.
“What a freaking shot!” Crandall…
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