WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Among the amazing artifice is the immovable edifice.
Billionaire golf nut Donald Trump spent millions to turn a generally forgettable piece of South Florida real estate into a green-grass monument to how a pile of money, not to mention a parade of bulldozers, can help carve something out of nothing.
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| Reilley Rankin rolls a putt to finish No. 8; disaster struck four holes later. (Getty Images) |
Otherwise known as the county lockup. When the wind is right, they say you can hear the incarcerated golf fans screaming their love for the players below. Although, on second thought, the 1,200 involuntary guests might be screaming for entirely different reasons.
Thursday at the LPGA's season-ending ADT Championship, they had a kindred spirit in first-round leader Reilley Rankin, who got into jail on the 12th hole and felt like screaming, or perhaps climbing a wall of her own.
After moving into the early lead at 3 under, Rankin made a ghastly 10 on the 12th hole, the type of humiliating experience that leaves players grasping for answers, words and solutions.
"It isn't fun to write that number down," she said.
It's a numbing number, to be sure. It almost took a translator to decipher her disjointed thoughts, probably because there was no succinct description to offer.
"I have no idea," she said of the ugly tumble. "I can't describe it. I played well overall. I kept my composure. I tried to, but I was a little, I think ... I don't know. I did my best."
The double-digit fidget sent her into a back-nine spiral that resulted in a 4-over 76 and a fall into a tie for 20th in the 32-player field. Before she knew what happened, Rankin went from the penthouse to the big house, or whatever it is the locals call the Palm Beach jail.
The 10 came from out of nowhere. Rankin birdied the 11th to move into the lead when she walked to the 12th, a par-5 that stands as the longest on the course at 531 yards. She shoved her drive down the right side, then yanked her second across the fairway into the trees.
She punched out and had about 140 yards left for her fourth, which was probably the shot that hurt most. She pulled it into a greenside bunker, then blasted the sand shot over the green into the trees, resulting in a lost ball. After taking a penalty drop in the sand, she again missed the green before chipping on and two-putting for a double-fig dig.
