Such as in life, luck plays it role on the golf course, and when the margins are as tight as they are in professional golf, that luck can play a huge role in the outcome.

Here, I take a look at what I consider to be the top-5 bad beats of 2022.

1. Mito Pereira

Chilean-born Mito Pereira had shown he could win.

He had won on the Latinoamerica Tour and three times on the Korn Ferry Tour, and whilst he hadn’t yet won at the highest level, the 27-year-old rookie had some experience of being in contention at the Fortinet, and in-running at the Heritage and Byron Nelson.

Fancied and well-backed by many throughout his first few months on tour, Pereira looked like breaking his duck at the most unlikely of events — the second major of the year, the PGA Championship.

Having finished his first round just three off the lead, Pereira says, “I’m really happy with my game,” something he backs up with a stunning second-round 64, finishing the day in second position.

Day three is a dream. With many of his rivals finding conditions too hard to deal with, the Texas Tech alumni finishes his round with a 25-foot birdie and a three shot lead.

Golf.com are following his every move,and he can’t hide his nerves as tee-time approaches, and as majors are supposed to do, the day goes from tough par-saves to heroic birdies, finally reaching the 72nd hole.

After a hugely courageous round, the PGA Tour maiden reached the 18th needing a par to win.

One shot ahead of Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris, the leader pushed his tee shot into the right water hazard; he drops onto the fairway now knowing what he needs to do, but his approach drifts left and he then faced a difficult downhill left-to-right chip.

The chip doesn’t work, racing past the pin and off the opposite side of the green. From there, there is no hiding from a double-bogey and a shot outside a playoff.

It was typical of a rookie leading a major — we have seen it so many times — but these episodes can affect a player for a long time.

Amazingly, Mito bounced back with two solid efforts in his next two events and ended his year with a runner-up in Japan, but that Sunday in May was his chance to go down in history.

Sadly, it looks as if we may lose Mito to LIV Golf, and we wonder what decision he would have made had he just found the fairway on the 18th at Southern Hills.

2. Danny Willett

35-year-old Englishman Danny Willett knew how to win.

He’d been an eight-time winner on tour — seven on the European Tour — and had beaten the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm on his way to prestigious titles that included the 2016 Masters.

Imperious at the 2021 Alfred Dunhill Links, many would have almost given him the 2022 Fortinet Championship as he stood just a four-feet birdie putt away from another victory.

There’s a twist. There always is.

On the par-5 last hole of the tournament, Willett watched his playing partner and sole rival, Max Homa, pitch in from off the green, still knowing that one putt would give him the title, with a safety net of a playoff.

Willett missed his birdie putt, sending it the same distance past the hole. It was ok – as the commentators said, he had been rock-solid from inside 10-feet all week.

He missed. Talk about grasping the defeat from the jaws of victory.

Danny Willett missed out on the Fortinet Championship title by a shot after missing a five-foot putt which would have led to a play-off ?pic.twitter.com/qBbMl2mo6x

— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) September 19, 2022

3. Sahith Theegla

In his first season, former superstar amateur Sahith Theegala, has made a lot of friends.

Just a year after receiving the three major college awards – Hogan, Haskins and Nicklaus – the then 24-year-old had his first experience of being in contention on the big stage, allowing nerves to get to him when leading the Sanderson Farms, eventually carding a final round 71 and finishing in 8th.

Four months later, the hugely talented Pepperdine golfer found himself in a similar position, leading the Pheonix Open into the final day.

On the infamous 17th, a driveable par-4 that can go oh-so-wrong (ask Xander and Jordan after the 2021 running) Theegala took out a hybrid, easily enough to reach the 280-yard landing spot.

He took aim, sent a sliding left-to-right fade right on the line of the pin. It landed short, ready to run on to the green, but got a terrible bounce off the downslope, ran across to the left of the green, and into the water.

He looked dejected on the tee box, something that may have contributed to the missed par putt, and he eventually was beaten a single shot by Scottie Scheffler, at the time also a maiden, who eventually won four tournaments in six outings including The Masters.

In admiration, Theegala has not let that affect him, challenging at The Travelers, Zoxo and RSM Classic, before finally winning his first event alongside Tom Hoge at the QBE Shootout.

However, he will still search for his first individual title as the season starts again in January. Surely, 2023  won’t see yet another Theegala Bad Beat?

4. Branden Grace

Perhaps this shot didn’t stop the South African duo of Grace and Garrick Higgo from winning the Zurich Classic, but it sure shows that inches count plenty in golf.

Birdies are required at every hole of the pairs format, so it’s understandable that every player tries to hit the ball as hard as possible, to give lob-wedges into greens that are easy to read.

On the par-4 13th, the pair had just come off their first bogey of the event, when Grace stepped up to the tee.

He launched one just on a line with the tree on the corner, a decent line that gives a 90-yard lob into the green, picked his tee up, watched bis partner fly his ball on a similar line, and went to find the end result.

Grace’s ball wasn’t on the fairway, or in the rough. It wasn’t even hidden among the roots – it was in the tree stump itself!

Talk about bad luck ?@BrandenGrace's tee shot lands inside a stump. pic.twitter.com/QuaLZ3TafY

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 23, 2022

5. Rasmus Hojgaard

The young Dane may have put himself out of contention for the title at The Belfry in May, but after an awful front nine, he really did not need luck like this:

Rasmus Hojgaard's ball dropped in and back out again! ?#BetfredBritishMasters pic.twitter.com/ljSG4CbGTM

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 8, 2022

Three unanswered bogeys on his front nine meant that the three-time DPWT winner had gone from within sniffing distance to chasing the most ranking points he could, and he recovered with a birdie at the first hole after the turn.

A double-bogey followed at the par-3 12th hole, and then at the par-4 16th, Hojgaard’s approach was perfect – so good that it landed in the hole for an eagle, before bouncing out and spinning off the green.

He would eventually make par, but after an eagle at the long 17th, he was left wondering what might have been. After all, the non-eagle cost him a tie for 6th place instead of a finish outside the top 15, and he even lost one of his greens-in-regulation!