Golf star Jon Rahm was forced to issue a groveling apology after a moment of pure frustration resulted in an elderly volunteer being struck in the face by a flying divot.
The incident occurred during Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink, where the Spaniard was struggling to navigate the course.
After a disappointing approach shot on the seventh hole sailed long, a frustrated Rahm took a swing at the thick rough that inadvertently caught a chunk of turf.
The resulting divot soared toward the gallery, as seen in a videos online, before striking an elderly volunteer in the shoulder before glancing off his face.
Rahm appeared to immediately realize his mistake and offered a quick apology to the fan, before later doubling down on his remarks at a press conference later in the day.Â
The 31-year-old said: ‘I got a flyer 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. [I] took a divot, and unfortunately, I hit a volunteer.
Golf star Jon Rahm was forced to issue a groveling apology after a moment of pure frustration resulted in an elderly volunteer being struck in the face by a flying divot
The incident occurred during the opening round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink
‘Unfortunately it hit him in the shoulder and then the face,’ Rahm added. ‘Which, 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.’Â
The PGA of America recently implemented a new ‘Player Code of Conduct’ to curb egregious behavior, but officials confirmed Rahm will not face a warning or penalty.
When previously discussing the conduct rules, the PGA of America Chief Championships Officer, Kerry Haigh, insisted that players could be subject to warning and potential penalties for infringing the rules.
She said: ‘It’s really for the good of the game that we’re implementing it to try and make sure everyone is behaving appropriately, professionally, and as we would want our children and people watching to see the major championship.’
A spokesperson for the organization told The Athletic that because the incident was deemed accidental and lacked intent, it did not qualify as a formal conduct violation.
‘Because there seemed to be no intent and that it was accidental, it was not a conduct violation,’ they explained.Â
