Former top-ranked amateur rips up thumb at LIV Promotions event, shares vomit-inducing photo

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[PHOTO: Jason Butler]

After a six-under 66 in the second round, Braden Thornberry was well on his way to making a serious run at the LIV Golf Promotions event in Abu Dhabi. With a 36-hole day in front of him, the former top-ranked amateur in the world would need a top-three finish in a field of 20 to qualify for the 2024 LIV season. For a man in desperate need of a place to play, it was a golden opportunity.

LIV Golf Promotions ends in crazy playoff packed with a drop discussion, a topped shot and night lights

Then, not even one hole into the 36-hole affair, Thornberry suffered a gruesome injury to his right thumb. He apparently attempted to hit a shot up against a tree and ripped the skin back badly. He later shared the vomit-inducing photo, which he claims was after they cleaned it up and pushed the skin back down (warning: it’s gross):

Goodness. If that’s what it looked like after they “cleaned” it up, we can only imagine what it looked like before. Thornberry told Ryan French, a.k.a. Monday Q Info on X (formerly known as Twitter), that it was “bleeding everywhere”.

The timing, of course, could not have been worse. Thornberry did grind it out over the next 35-and-a-half holes, but his two-over finish saw him finish 19th out of 20 players. That wasn’t even enough to earn a spot in the Asian Tour’s International Series, which takes place next March.

Making the timing that much worse is that Thornberry is set to tee it up in the final stage of Korn Ferry Tour/PGA Tour Q-School, which begins this Thursday at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley course and Sawgrass Country Club. Thornberry, a former winner of the Haskins Award (which honours the most outstanding collegiate golfer in the United States), played in just one KFT event the entire 2023 season, missing the cut at the Visit Knoxville Open. His last pro start came at the Euram Bank Open on the Challenge Tour in July, where he also missed the cut.