JT Poston recorded a 12 on the par-5 13th at the Travelers Championship after a series of recovery attempts, a ball in the water and multiple drops. The sequence unfolded late in his round and was the decisive factor in his closing score.
The hole began with a tee shot that found the fairway. Subsequent shots moved from a greenside bunker to a short bunker recovery, then across the green and into the water. Poston took three separate drops during the sequence before finally reaching the putting surface on his 10th shot and two-putting for a 12.
How JT Poston scored a 12 on the 13th
What happened on the 13th
Poston’s tee shot found the middle of the fairway, leaving a reachable par-5 approach.
The second shot came up short of the green and settled in a greenside bunker rather than on the putting surface.
The bunker shot did not carry far enough and left a short recovery. That chip traveled across the green and over a false front into the water hazard on the far side.
Following the water find, Poston took three separate relief drops while attempting to advance the ball back to the green. On his 10th stroke he reached the green, missed the long putt for 11 and tapped in for 12.
Shot-by-shot timeline
To clarify the sequence shot by shot:
– Tee shot: found middle of the fairway.
– Second shot: landed in a greenside bunker.
– Third shot (bunker): came out short of the green.
– Fourth shot (chip): crossed the green and fell into the water hazard on the far side.
– Relief and recovery: three separate drops while trying to get back to the green.
– 10th shot: finally reached a putting surface; two-putted from there to card a 12.
How the 12 affected his round and the leaderboard
The 12 was the primary reason Poston finished 6-over for the day. He closed with a 76 and was listed 69th in the final standings among the 72 players who made the cut, according to event reporting.
The score moved Poston down the leaderboard and affected his position in the tournament’s final grouping. The Travelers Championship itself proceeded to a playoff after Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler finished tied for the lead, per event coverage.
Poston and expert reaction
Poston spoke with reporters about the lies and the conditions around the green, comments relayed in coverage by Golfweek. He described the grass and the false front as factors in his decision-making.
Quoted by Golfweek, Poston said, “It’s not really rough, where you can kind of blast it out. It’s into the grain, but it looks like you can get enough golf ball on it, which is why I kept trying to hit a good chip.”
He added that attempting to putt from the fringe felt risky because of the way the ball was bouncing and the slope of the green. “I feel like it’s just going to hop and that takes all the speed out of it,” Poston told Golfweek.
Observers noted the sequence combined several small errors with unfavorable bounces and the water hazard, increasing the stroke penalty beyond what any single shot would have caused.
What comes next for Poston
Poston’s position in the Official World Golf Ranking was reported at No. 32 during event coverage. The 13th-hole 12 is a significant score on his stat line for the week but does not, by itself, redefine his season trajectory.
Players typically return to the PGA Tour schedule quickly after difficult holes, using the next events to reset. Poston will resume tournament play on upcoming tour stops and aim to limit the statistical impact of this round.
For professionals, a single high-scoring hole can shape public attention for a day; for Poston it will be one item in a broader season record that includes multiple weeks of finished rounds and ranking points.
Source attribution: Reporting from Fox News — Fox News: JT Poston posts a 12 on a single hole at Travelers Championship. Additional context and quotes via Golfweek (Golfweek). Ranking reference: Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
