Nick Voke stuck in a different kind of hazard

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 09: Nick Voke of New Zealand plays a shot on the 16th hole during the second round of the Orange County National Championship at Orange County National Golf Club on October 09, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 09: Nick Voke of New Zealand plays a shot on the 16th hole during the second round of the Orange County National Championship at Orange County National Golf Club on October 09, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Nick Voke stuck in a different kind of hazard

New Zealand golfer Nick Voke was nearly disqualified from a tournament in the United States after becoming stuck in an elevator at his accommodation.

Voke, 26, was playing in the Veritex Bank Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour in Texas last month when the incident happened.

He was up early on the Saturday morning to complete the last two holes of his second round, which had been suspended from the day before.

He and his caddie entered the lift at 6.13am when the elevator shut down between floors.

Voke contacted the Korn Ferry Tour chiefs to see what the protocol would be if he wasn’t able to make his tee time and was informed that he would be disqualified.

“We were standing up, we were honking everything, jamming on the door.” Voke said. “We were trying to pry the thing open and no luck.”

Eventually, after being trapped for 46 minutes, they were freed and rushed to the course for a brief warmup before playing the final two holes one-under to make the cut.

Voke, with the adrenaline still pumping, shot a superb 65 in his third round on the Saturday afternoon and followed that up with a final-round score of 73 to finish 46th.


Leigh SmithComment