'15 Seconds Too Late' - Former LIV Golfer Misses Out On Earning Start At PGA Tour-Sanctioned Event In Gut-Wrenching Style

Former LIV Golf League player Turk Pettit missed out on becoming the first man to tee it up in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event after competing on the PIF-backed circuit in gut-wrenching fashion this week.

Pettit - who played in all eight events of LIV's inaugural season during 2022 but has reportedly been cleared to compete in PGA Tour-sanctioned events again - was trying to Monday qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour's Veritex Bank Championship as he looks to rebuild his career.

The Clemson University graduate turned pro in 2021 and began operating on the PGA Tour Canada and Korn Ferry Tour prior to his life-changing decision in 2022. He was dropped from the League at the end of the season, though, and has largely been playing on the Asian Tour since.

Pettit has previously made an attempt to regain his PGA Tour card via Q-School but failed to secure one of the five cards despite making it through the first round in October.

Several months later, according to Monday Q Info on X, the 25-year-old found himself in a five-for-two playoff ahead of the Veritex Bank Championship and stood on the tee likely fancying his chances of making it through.

However, that dream would be short-lived after Pettit sent his drive significantly off line. A search party began their three-minute attempt to locate his golf ball in the bushes and rough, but they found it 15 seconds too late and Pettit was forced to head back to the tee in order to hit his third.

The former LIV man reportedly felt as if his chance had gone, though, and he was seen being driven back to the clubhouse - leaving the other four players to battle it out.

While playing in LIV, Pettit was part of the Niblicks GC side which, for 2023, became the Range Goats GC. Captained by Bubba Watson, Pettit was left out of the side in favour of Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III and eventual 2023 LIV Golf Individual winner, Talor Gooch. 

Pettit's best result on the breakaway circuit came at LIV Golf Invitational Bedminster, where he finished in a tie for sixth. Aside from the top-10 finish, the 2021 NCAA individual champion primarily struggled on the circuit, with his best results including a T27 and a T38. His other finishes read 44th, 45th, and twice 46th.

Although Pettit will have to wait a little longer for his chance at PGA Tour redemption, 15-year-old Miles Russell continues to watch his stock rise. The prodigious talent finished in the top-20 at last week's Korn Ferry Tour event and will be in the field for the Veritex Bank Championship, too.

The left-hander - who has gone from being unranked on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to 1738 - has also been handed his first PGA Tour start at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship later in 2024.