Joost Luiten had a frustrating day at the DP World Tour Championships in Dubai when he lost three of his clubs up a tree. He was playing the 13th hole and after making a bogey, he threw his driver at the tree where it got stuck. He then threw another club in an attempt to retrieve the driver, but that club also got caught in the tree’s branches and leaves. Despite several attempts to dislodge the clubs with the help of a tournament official, Luiten ended up losing a third club in the process.
Luiten tried various methods to free the stuck clubs, including throwing other clubs at the tree and jumping to hit it with a standard bearer’s sign, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He completed the hole with 11 clubs and ended his championship three-over-par, placing third from the bottom. Eventually, a volunteer managed to rescue the lodged clubs. Nicolai Hojgaard ultimately won the tournament.
Luiten summed up his experience by saying “That sums up my week nicely”. This incident adds to the list of interesting occurrences in recent golf tournaments such as Rory McIlroy’s tee shot landing on a spectator’s lap.