You have to be one of the best golfers on the planet to earn the right to play on the PGA Tour, but guys who earn that honor aren’t immune to some rough days on the course. However, there’s arguably no one who’s had a worse time than Mike Reasor.
You’d have to be a particularly devoted golf fan to be familiar with Reasor, who spent close to a decade on the PGA Tour after turning pro in 1969 (he didn’t win a single tournament before calling it quits in 1978, although he did finish in the top ten on ten occasions).
While I don’t want to diminish the talent required to last as long as he did on the circuit, there are plenty of journeymen boasting a similarly mediocre résumé who’ve been lost to the annals of golf history.
However, barring a very unexpected development, Reasor will always have one claim to fame thanks to what transpired at a tournament in 1974.
Mike Reasor shot the worst score ever recorded in a PGA Tour tournament (93-over!) thanks to a horse accident in between rounds
Reasor was obviously hoping to win when he headed down to Florida for the Tallahassee Open at Killearn Golf and Country Club in April of 1974.
However, he also had some incentive to simply make the cut, as doing so meant he’d automatically earn a spot in the Byron Nelson Classic, which was being hosted at Preston Trail Golf Club the following week.
When the first round wrapped up, Reasor was sitting where he started after posting an even par of 72. He failed to improve on the score when he shot a 72 yet again the following day, so while he wasn’t exactly in contention, he could take solace in knowing he wouldn’t have to qualify for the Byron Nelson.
However, that ended up being a bit of a moot point thanks to what transpired following his second round.
Reasor had some free time on Friday night and decided there was no better way to use it than horseback riding with a friend of his. Unfortunately, his not-so-trusty steed managed to run into a tree while he was in the saddle, and he found himself dealing with a separated shoulder, bruised ribs, and ligament damage in his knees as a result.
He had absolutely no business playing a round of golf the following day, but if he withdrew from the tournament, he’d no longer be entitled to the exemption he earned by making the cut (the rules stated he needed to finish all four rounds).
So what did Reasor decide to do? Well, the mad lad figured his best option was to use a five-iron to hit every single shot (aside from putts) with one hand—a strategy that led to him coming into the clubhouse on Saturday with a 51-over 123 on the scorecard.
His final round was technically better, as he was able to shave nine strokes off the previous day’s total for 114 and a grand total of 381 to finish the Tallahassee Open at +93—the highest cumulative score ever recorded at a PGA Tour event.
As I alluded to above, it was also all for nothing, as Reasor wasn’t healthy enough to play the following week and ultimately needed around a month to fully recover.
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