Steve Wheatcroft only needed to get up and down for birdie from the bunker on Glen Abbey’s par-5 18th, in order to force a playoff with eventual winner Jhonattan Vegas, and give himself a chance to win the RBC Canadian Open.



Unfortunately, Wheatcroft hit his worst shot of the tournament and shanked his ball over the green and into the water.

Professionals hit bad shots just like the rest of us… only difference is they don’t happen as frequently.

But when they do, they can be costly.

Wheatcroft would eventually make bogey on the hole and finished T5, two shots back of winner Jhonattan Vegas. Now only losing by two shots doesn’t seem like much, but here’s how costly those strokes were.

1st Place, -12, $1,062,000

T2, -11, $440,533

T5, -10, $207,238 Difference between T5 and 1st place in terms of prize money was $854,762 . A whopping $233,295 separated him and T2 – which seemed like Wheatcroft’s worst case scenario prior to his shank. A simple up and two putt gets him T2. He also lost out on a ton of FedEx Cup points thanks to this unfortunate gaffe as the winner got 500 points while T5 received less than 100. Finally, a PGA Tour win would have set Wheatcroft (a journeyman’s journeyman) up for invites and exemptions worth millions more, including the playoffs, majors, and so much more.



It’s tough not to feel for Wheatcroft. Not many of us are ever in a position where one mistake can cost us millions of dollars.