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PGA Tour pro punts putter across green, withdraws from Valspar Championship
Image credit: ClutchPoints

Patton Kizzire has had a miserable start to his 2025 PGA Tour season. Kizzire has made seven starts thus far and reached the weekend just once at the first event of the season, The Sentry. His frustration clearly boiled over on Thursday at the Valspar Championship.

The 39-year-old pro was 2-over early during his opening round. Kizzire found himself facing an 8-foot par putt on 16 (his seventh, started on back nine).

He missed the putt high of the hole and immediately punted his club across the green.

Kizzire damaged his putter with the kick, forcing him to tap in using his wedge. It was the third time Kizzire missed a putt under 10 feet during his round. Shortly thereafter, he withdrew from the PGA Tour event citing a lower back injury, according to Newsweek.

It is unknown whether the injury occurred during his wild outburst.

Unfortunately for Kizzire, he will likely be facing a fine from the PGA Tour. There is a policy in place meant to keep players from having that exact type of outburst on the course.

Members tend to be fined for behavior that is deemed ‘unbecoming of a professional.’

Yet, according to former major champion Mark Calcavecchia, the fine is not likely to stick.

Calcavecchia took to social media to detail his thoughts.

“He’ll get fined. Then He’ll appeal claiming faulty putter and bad green,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Or somebody was heckling him. I know this stuff. 19 fines myself and got outta of several.”

While Kizzire struggled, several PGA Tour stars are thriving. Viktor Hovland and Shane Lowry skied up the Valspar leaderboard on Friday, with the former holding the lead after 36 holes, as of this writing.

This article first appeared on Golf on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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