DP World Tour player Julien Brun had a day to forget at the third round of the Italian Open last weekend.
The TCU alumnus has had a solid start to his 2023 campaign, with just seven starts showing a yield of a top-5, seventh place, 12th and two top-25 finishes. He was probably expecting to add to those and improve his top-20 ranking on the season-long Race To Dubai Rankings, especially after an opening two days left him on 1-under and in 25th place.
Saturday was not to be his day, though!
The card will show a 12-over 83, with six bogeys and four doubles being the worst of his career, but it doesn’t tell the full tale.
Due to conditions, the DPWT had permitted lift, clean and place for the first two rounds, but sent out a memo saying these allowances had been removed for the third round. Only Brun and his caddy missed it.
On his very first hole, he received a penalty stroke for breaking the amended ruling, but then repeated his error again on the 6th. Down and out on the Marco Simone course – this year’s Ryder Cup venue – he compounded his errors with lost balls on numbers 11, 12 and 14 to add seven more shots onto his card. The shot-tracker available on the DPWT site makes ugly reading.
To his credit, the three-time winner on the Challenge Tour, saw the funny side, posting that he was looking forward to his fourth-round tee-time, his 7.10am start being almost six hours before the leaders!
Sadly, his final round 75 contained four bogeys and one double. It was better, for sure, with one lost ball and no punishments, but it couldn’t stop him finishing the last of 75 weekend qualifiers.
Despite that, Brun saw the funny side, commenting: “A bit better today! No penalty strokes…we improved.”
Julien Brun shot 83 yesterday but had this brilliant response 😅#DS80OpendItalia pic.twitter.com/yUBxufvApJ
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 7, 2023
Article originally appeared on: Golfwrx.com