PGA Tour rookie William Mouw has a mature response to his viral 13

William Mouw wears a bracelet on his right wrist that says: NEVER EVER GIVE UP.

Talk about practicing what you preach.

Mouw, a 24-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Pepperdine, went viral the Friday after his disastrous octave-bogey 13 on the par-5 16th hole at PGA West’s Stadium Course. Mouw pulled his second putt into the 18-foot-deep bunker guarding the left side of the green — and twice he would return to the bunker after briefly escaping.

That surge, the highest-ever score on the 16th, plus a triple on the par-3 17th would have put him at 9-over 81, all but guaranteeing Mouw an early exit from The American Express.

A day later, Mouw completed his second consecutive missed cut, but not without a smile.

“I didn’t go 13 today, so yeah,” said Mouw, who carded nine birdies at La Quinta Country Club, including six in the final seven holes, to shoot a 67 and finish at even par (the cut ended at 9 under).

“I got nine birdies today and to come back in a positive way for me is significant,” Mouw added in his interview with PGATour.com, “and that’s how I took it.”

As for the eye-popping number, Mouw said he wasn’t the first to make a mess of that bunker.

“And I certainly won’t be the last,” Mouw said, before continuing, “Golf is a lot like life, man. There is adversity, both as a player and as a student of the game and as a person of life, it’s not about dwelling on adversity. This is how you can turn your adversity into positivity and use it to push you to become better and look at the bigger picture. And that’s something I did.”