Jon Rahm has promised to track down a volunteer to apologise after a bizarre accident in the first round of the PGA Championship saw the Spaniard hit the man in the face with a divot.
The incident unfolded shortly after Rahm hit a poor approach into the seventh, with the former world No 1 then lashing out in anger by slamming his club against the ground and inadvertently launching a clod of earth at the nearby volunteer.
Rahm apologised immediately and stated after his opening 69 that he would seek out the man with a gift.
In explaining the episode, he said: ‘I got a flier on my second shot that went long. It’s not a good spot. Just out of frustration, I tried to make an air swing, just over the grass, and I wasn’t looking, took a divot, and unfortunately, I hit a volunteer.
‘It hit him in the shoulder and then the face – I couldn’t feel any worse. That’s why I was there apologizing.
‘I need to somehow track him down to give him a present because that’s inexcusable and for something that could be completely avoidable. Whether it was my intention or not, it was just not good.’
Jon Rahm has promised to apologise and give a gift to a volunteer after accidentally hitting him in the face with a divot
He accidentally launched a clod of earth at the volunteer after slamming his club against the ground in frustration
Rahm had a brighter moment when he holed out for eagle on the second hole, immediately after coughing up a bogey from the middle of the fairway on the previous hole.
The LIV golfer said: ‘I mean, what can I say? It was a phenomenal shot, a really good wedge shot. I came off that first green kicking myself because it was a wrong choice of shot for such a good drive – 105 yards away downwind, it was the wrong shot choice.
‘Go to the next hole, and I have a very similar number, at least I have to play it the same number into the wind. Obviously a lot more committed with the right decision, and hit a great shot, obviously the luck of seeing it go in, right?’
