Pro misses 2-footer in Match Play playoff. Then it got a little weird.

Would Herbert have made Kanaya putt for his par if he had made his 31-inch par putt? While we don’t know, consider that Herbert did not give him the putt when Herbert earlier on the green had putted for birdie, from 17 feet, 6 inches away.  

Then there’s Herbert’s 14-inch putt. Had he made that for a five, would he have made Kanaya putt for a four? Here’s what he know for sure. After missing the 31-incher, Herbert took one step forward with his right leg, leaned over, lifted his left in the air and missed. Was he actually putting it? Or was he admitting defeat? Keep in mind, too, Herbert could have marked his 14-incher for bogey.   

On Golf Channel’s broadcast, analyst and major champion Justin Leonard believed the match was over after Herbert missed for par. 

“That next one didn’t really matter,” he said.    

Have shorter putts been missed than Kanaya’s 22-incher? Yes. But in match play, do you make someone putt a 22-incher? It depends on the player. And the situation. 

In the end, Kanaya moves on to Saturday’s round of 16. And Herbert does not. 

“My father told me when I was young, don’t give up, keep going, keep going, keep trying, don’t give up,” Kanaya said. 

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Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.