‘American Withdraws Following Vehement Tantrum That Left Putter Damaged on the Green’

Patton Kizzire is not shy about expressing his emotions on the golf course, and he was recently forced to withdraw from the Valspar Championships after a particularly intense display of frustration.

While sitting at 3-over par, Kizzire unleashed his angst by kicking his putter during the back nine of the tournament’s opening round.

The 39-year-old’s putt veered right of the hole, which led him to angrily launch his putter towards the bunker.

This incident unfolded on Kizzire’s sixth hole of the day.

The commentary team from Golf Channel was taken aback by Kizzire’s outburst, with some jokingly suggesting he might be considering a football career.

“You really don’t want to see that,” Steve Sands remarked during the broadcast.

“Perhaps he’s auditioning for his NFL career,” joked golf analyst Gary Koch.

“That could have been a field goal… are the [Tampa Bay] Bucs looking for a kicker?” Sands quipped in response.

Despite his fiery act, Kizzire did finish the hole by using a wedge to tap the ball in.

He later picked up his putter, which had become bent in the process.

However, his participation in the tournament was short-lived as he withdrew just two holes later, with the PGA Tour announcing he did so due to a back injury.

This isn’t the first instance of Kizzire expressing his frustration on the course.

He previously snapped his driver over his knee following a poor shot at the 2021 Northern Trust and broke his putter during the following week on tour.

Under golf regulations, Kizzire was not permitted to replace his broken club, as players are not allowed to substitute any equipment that is damaged “in anger.”

At the time, he mentioned that he didn’t intend to break his club and believed he wasn’t applying enough pressure to snap it.

As a result, he soldiered on for the final 10 holes without a driver.