Jon Rahm got a very unlucky bounce on Saturday afternoon, and it came at a price for a fan sitting near the 11th green at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina.
Rahm’s approach shot at the par-4 in the third round of the PGA Championship flared well left of the green. Instead of just landing in the thick rough, though, Rahm’s ball actually appeared to hit a fan directly in the head. The ball drilled a fan who was crouched down, clearly trying to take cover from the ball, and then ricocheted over to the other edge of the green after making a noise that left the CBS broadcast crew stunned.
Rahm went over to check on the fan after the fact, and gave him a hug and a signed ball. Thankfully, the fan appeared to be OK and all is well. Rahm then had to chip back onto the green, and he two-putted for bogey. That dropped him back to 4-over.
The shot, though far more dangerous, was reminiscent of something that Jhonattan Vegas did on Friday. Vegas, who took a two-shot lead into the weekend, bounced his tee shot off a rake at the par-3 17th and ended up landing safely on the putting surface.
The key difference, though, is that Vegas both only hit a rake and he saved his par. No fan was injured in that sequence.
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Despite the incident at the 11th, Rahm was in the midst of a bit of a push on Moving Day. He opened the third round with a pair of birdies in his first three holes, and he made to to 5-under on the week after a birdie at the 10th. At the time, that brought him within two shots of the lead — though he fell back to three with the bogey at No. 11.
Regardless, things could have been much worse for Rahm. And, more importantly, that fan is still in good shape.
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