British Open 2024: Tour pro follows up 84-yard drive with skulled chip and colorful WD

TROON, Scotland — No one wants to withdraw at a major championship, but sometimes there’s no alternative. That looked to be the case for France’s Romain Langasque on Thursday at the British Open—at least judging from the expression on his face the moment he said enough was enough.

The 29-year-old DP World Tour player (and British Amateur champion in 2015 at Carnoustie) was three over par as he approached the tee at Royal Troon’s famed Postage Stamp eighth hole. The shortest par-3 on the Open rota was playing at 118 yards on Thursday, but Langasque’s tee shot fell surprisingly short of the green. While there is no video available, the R&A’s shot tracker marked the drive at just 84 yards.

There was video, however, of Langasque’s next shot. As he attempted to find the green in two, this played out:

What you don’t see is that Langasque’s ball skulled over the green. What you do see is a man who had, well, emphatically, decided his day/week/championship had come to an end.

The R&A confirmed Langasque withdrew because of back injury. It was unclear whether it happened on the tee shot or at some point earlier in the round until Langasque mentioned it on X later in the afternoon.

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Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.

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