We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again and we’ll never stop saying it: winning isn’t easy in pro golf.

For this week’s example, we point to the Cazoo French Open on the DP World Tour. Ewen Ferguson held a share of the lead with Jordan Smith entering the final round at Le Golf National, site of the 2018 Ryder Cup outside Paris. The Scot won twice on tour in 2022, but came into this week’s event ranked 51st in the Race to Dubai, with a top-50 finish on the points list getting you into the field at the DP World Tour Championship in November. A victory in France would obviously make certain he was playing in the lurcrative season-ender, but a solid showing would make things a lot less tense on the 27-year-old with five regular-season events remaining this autumn.

But Ferguson’s chances at winning took a massive hit on the opening hole … and in the most bizarre fashion.

Ouch. Ferguson took a drop and eventually posted a double-bogey 6. It didn’t get much better on the par-3 second hole when he hit his tee shot into the water and made another double-bogey. A bogey on the par-4 fourth saw him tumble further down the leaderboard.

Ferguson continued to grind, making a birdie on the ninth hole to hit the back nine still just three shots back of Smith. But it’s safe to say this wasn’t the way we’re guessing Ferguson thought the day would play out.

By day’s end, Ferguson posted a four-over 76 that left him tied for 10th, six shots back of eventual winner Ryo Hisatsune, who outpaced Smith with a closing 66 to grab his first career DP World Tour title. The good news? Ferguson did sneak inside the top 50 on the Race to Dubai points list (up to 46th). The bad news? The autumn isn’t going to be any less tense.

Main image: Luke Walker