The Hawk Ending Explained: Did Lonnie Miss the Putt on Purpose?

Netflix’s ‘The Hawk’ follows the story of Lonnie “the Hawk” Hawkins, who is trying to finish what he started when he was in the prime of his career. Twenty years ago, he had the opportunity to get his name in the history books by becoming a golfer to win all the major grand slams. However, a moment of hesitation cost him the US Open to his nemesis, and he never managed to recover from it. Now, he has decided to rectify that mistake and win the title at all costs. However, much has changed in the past two decades, and when the time comes to make the winning shot, Lonnie has to reconsider what he is willing to lose to win. SPOILERS AHEAD.

The Hawk Plot Synopsis

When we meet Lonnie, aka the Hawk, he is in the middle of a game, accompanied by his best friend and loyal caddy, Old Henry. As he is about to make his shot, Old Henry dies, forcing Lonnie to withdraw from the game against his staunch wish to continue. Since Henry had been such an important part of the Hawkins family, everyone, including Lonnie’s estranged wife, Stacy, and his golfer son, Lance, attends his funeral with a heavy heart. Lonnie, however, is nowhere to be seen. Instead of mourning his friend, he finds himself re-energized with the desire to make yet another attempt to win the US Open.

With Henry gone, he needs a caddy, and he finds one, named Sam, outside a Walmart. Sam doesn’t know anything about golf, but she is attracted to the idea of finding a purpose in life and a way to make money for herself. She comes with secrets and baggage of her own, but she sets all that aside when she realizes how great Lonnie is at the game. His wins are her wins, and soon, the duo becomes each other’s best friends and confidants. Or at least, so it seems for a moment. Lonnie has been selfish his entire life, so it takes him some time to appreciate Sam. In the same vein, he has also pushed his family away for a long time, and it takes a tumultuous journey for him to be better to them and prove himself worthy of redemption.

Did Lonnie Miss the Shot on Purpose?

Twenty years ago, when Lonnie stood on the brink of glory, one moment of hesitation cost him the US Open. He admits he lost because he wanted it too much, and his inability to detach from that desire held him back and cost him his entire career. This time, he vows not to repeat the same mistake. Over the course of ten episodes, which span several tournaments in which Lonnie has slowly climbed back to the top three, he has refined his game to the level it was at when he was still in his prime. He has also learned some valuable lessons and realized that his obsession with the game cost him his family, though there is still time for him to fix things. Once again, the question is: who does he love more, golf or his wife and son?

In the final match, Lonnie is prepared to give it all, which means not only beating his lifelong nemesis, Golden Fisk, but also his son, Lance, who is the rising star of the sports. However, the night before the match, Stacy visits him and tells him that Lance is in a tricky place. He is too much in debt and is being hounded by some dangerous people, who will kill him if he loses the game and doesn’t pay them off with the prize money. She pleads with Lonnie to lose the game on purpose, so their son can win, and his life can be saved. The next day, as Lonnie prepares to make the putt, the thought of his son getting shot to death swirls in his mind.

When the time comes, he misses the putt, and Lance wins, since Fisk had already been eliminated by that point. One is moved to think that perhaps Lonnie chose his son over the win after all. He himself says he missed it on purpose. And while it might seem so, the answer is not so simple. Later, when Sam asks him if he really did miss it on purpose, he doesn’t answer her, but offers her a pickle. Considering how focused Lonnie had been on the win since the beginning, it is rather shocking that he would miss the opportunity to make a comeback so easily. Moreover, considering how selfish and apathetic he has been all this time, since he didn’t even bother to come to Henry’s funeral, it seems a bit out of character for him to make that move now.

One could call his character growth or his love for his son, but Lonnie most likely did not miss the putt on purpose. When his wife told him their son was going to be killed if he lost, Lonnie’s first answer was that he could win and pay off Lance’s debts anyway. It was never about the money to him anyway, and the promise of glory felt too much to lose over something that could be easily handled another way. These were the thoughts he had while he made the putt. He didn’t want his son to die, but deep in his heart, the desire to win, how close he was to it, and how he would likely never get the chance again, also haunted him. In the end, all these thoughts muddled with his brain. Once again, he couldn’t detach himself and wanted it too much, which led him to make the same mistake and lose.

Why Did Lance Deceive Lonnie?

Had Stacy not told Lonnie about Lance’s problem with his creditors, there is a good chance Lonnie would have made the putt. He certainly would have been much more clearheaded, and perhaps, he could have finally found the detachment to look the other way while the ball made its way into the hole. And Lance knew it! He learned from his father that a player’s mental state at the time of the game determines whether they will win. He himself had lost many a match because he couldn’t control his mind. Eventually, with Crystal’s help, he finds a way to detach himself, at least from his desire to appease his father and gain his love and appreciation in return. After years of trying to fit into his father’s shoes, he decides to walk his own path.

Once he starts to view the game from this new perspective, he sees his father as a rival who must be beaten by hook or crook. He knew he needed to get inside Lonnie’s mind. While there was very little that would bother his father to rattle him, Lance knew that just a shadow of doubt would be enough to throw him off. So, he came up with the story about the creditors. He told it to his mom, who he knew would approach Lonnie. To lend more credibility to the possibility of his death if he lost, he gets the guys from the illegal poker game in Vegas to attend the game. He knew that once Lonnie saw them in the crowd, he would make the connection, and the threat would seem more real and immediate.

Lance knew what winning the game meant to Lonnie, which is why he had no doubt that his father would wish to win, whether the danger to his son was real or not. But Lance didn’t want him to make a choice. Whether or not Lonnie chose to lose on purpose was never the intention. In fact, Lance knew that the seed of doubt would be enough to throw Lonnie into a state of mind that would disbalance him, and even if he wanted to win, he wouldn’t be able to make the shot because of his distracted state of mind. He is proven right in the end. Even as Lonnie tries to tell himself he lost on purpose, he loses nonetheless, which was the point all along.

Do Lonnie and Stacy Get Back Together? Do Lonnie and Lance Reconcile?

Lonnie’s hunger for glory results in his losing his wife, Stacy. While she had been nothing but supportive of him over the years, she came to realize that Lonnie didn’t show the same support and loyalty to her. He never prioritized her or their son, Lance, and so, she found it best to leave him altogether. She filed for divorce, for the papers were never signed, so even as they became estranged over the years, with her picking up a new beau, they never really separated in legal terms. Initially, it seems this may be because Lonnie is still in love with her and not ready to let her go, but eventually it turns out that she, too, still harbors some affection for him.

After being bogged down by her husband and son’s quest to win the tournament, Stacy finally decides to free herself of both of them. She sells her new business to Golden Fisk, even though he is Lonnie’s nemesis, and is ready to marry Radford and leave golf behind once and for all. However, while on the way out of the city, she receives a message from Lonnie and decides to turn back and go to the tournament. She says she has to be there for him, though she never specifies whether she wants to be there for Lance or Lonnie. At first, it seems she is returning for her son, with whom she has been through all these years.

She has pushed him for success, even if it meant that she would hitch a ride with him. And this feels like too momentous a moment to be absent from. But then, when Lonnie misses the shot, she tells Radford she cannot marry him because she is still in love with him. This means that she returned for him. She knew he had experienced this heartbreak before, and despite all his selfishness, she hoped that he loved their son more than the game. Whatever the real reason for Lonnie’s loss may have been, it appears to Stacy that he chose to make this sacrifice for their son, which rekindles her feelings for him.

One month later, we see Lonnie back on the road with Sam. It was not a career-breaking loss for him, as he has been offered the chance to lead the Ryder Cup. Because he is continuing to play the game, it is fair to assume that things might not be so good between him and Stacy. It just means their on-and-off continues. Meanwhile, he is ready to go on a road trip with Lance, which shows he is really trying to be a better father and to connect with his son the way he should have all those years ago. All’s well that ends well, for now.

Read More: Where is Netflix’s The Hawk Filmed?