Jon Rahm had a nightmare of a Sunday at The Players Championship as the 54-hole leader tumbled down the leaderboard en route to a 4-over par 76 that left him in a tie for 12th, but it could have been a lot worse.
After further review of Rahm’s early-round struggles, it appears the errant approach he hit on the par-4 3rd hole that struck a fan could have been a lot worse.
After pulling his drive into the rough on the par-4 fourth hole, Rahm caught a flier lie in the overseed bermudagrass that jumped on him and sent his ball screaming over the green. Unfortunately for a fan, the errant shot caught him square in the chest.
That’s gonna leave a mark pic.twitter.com/Vmmm20Utw6
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) March 17, 2019
However, after looking at the spectators around the man who was struck, a welt on the chest may have been the best possible outcome. Only a foot or two to the man’s left was a woman holding an infant in a baby bjorn and just behind him was a toddler in a stroller.
Other outlets have pointed out that the man struck by the ball was tough enough to take the shot and still hold on to his beer, which is commendable, but his actions as a human shield were probably the most impressive.
Golf fan holds onto his beer after getting drilled by errant Jon Rahm shot https://t.co/U9VfLHCkvD pic.twitter.com/a7blrECQOD
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) March 18, 2019
Rahm did come over and apologize to the fan, signing a glove and giving him a hug. The Spaniard was unable to get up-and-down from behind the fourth green, making his third bogey in the first four holes, which led to a front-nine score of 1-over par 37.
