Big Play

Who: Tim Clark

What: 52-yard fairway bunker shot from a plugged lie

Where: 557-yard par-5 17th�hole at TPC Deere Run

When: Final round of the John Deere Classic

Why:
Clark didn't bogey the easy 17th and lose the Deere because of his flubbed bunker shot. With a fried egg on an uphill lie to a back-right flag on a green fronted by another huge trap, he was likely to miss the putting surface even with a great shot. No, Clark lost because he made unforced errors on three much easier shots on the hole: a 268-yard three-wood (thin), a 40-yard pitch (five feet short) and a missed putt.

DOM'S TIP
Shut the Face to Feast On a Fried Egg

With a plugged lie, you need to dig down and take extra sand to get the ball out. To do that, make these three adjustments from your regular bunker address position (far left):

1. Close the club face so the club cuts through the sand like a knife.

2. Stand a lot closer to the ball to reestablish the loft that you lost when you closed the club face.

3. Move the ball back in your stance to create an excessively downward swing.

Dom DiJulia teaches at Jericho National Golf Club in New Hope, Pa.