It’s only Thursday in Philadelphia, but it’s already been a rocky week for Jon Rahm at the PGA Championship. It began in the media centre on Tuesday, when Rahm was grilled by reporters about LIV Golf’s uncertain future and his decision-making that led him to join the upstart league in 2023. The line of questioning sought to explore Rahm’s professional and personal regrets, or lack thereof, and though he did his best to answer thoughtfully, his discomfort was palpable.
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During the opening round at Aronimink on Thursday, Rahm’s agitation translated to the golf course. The Spaniard struggled over the course of his first 10 holes before breaking the pressure with an unlikely hole-out for eagle at the second (Rahm began his day on the back nine). The relief was only temporary though, and after a poor shot out of the fairway rough at the seventh hole, Rahm took an additional hack at the turf out of frustration. According to The Athletic’s Gabby Herzig, the swing pulled up a chunk of grass that flew through the air, striking a nearby volunteer. When it rains, it pours… divots.
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Though the divot was not visible on ESPN+’s camera feed, the reaction of the nearby fans and the volunteer himself, who was seen holding the side of his face in the immediate aftermath, seemed to corroborate much of Herzig’s account. Rahm also appeared concerned, going over to check on the elderly man before making his way towards the green.
After his round, Rahm was asked about the incident, acknowledged what happened and he took the chance to apologise for his behaviour. “I got a flier on my second shot that went long. It’s not a good spot,” Rahm explained. “Out of frustration, I tried to make an airswing, just over the grass, and I wasn’t looking, took a divot, and unfortunately, I hit a volunteer… Unfortunately, it hit him in the shoulder and then the face. Which I couldn’t feel any worse. That’s why I was there apologising. 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.”
The bizarre moment echoed increasing concerns about the code of conduct at golf’s highest-profile events. Outbursts by the likes of Robert MacIntyre and Sergio Garcia at the Masters last month drew official reprimands and calls for stricter behavioural standards on the golf course.
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PGA of America chief championship officer Kerry Haigh, spoke on the growing issue on Wednesday during a pre-championship press conference, saying that it will be a point of emphasis at Aronimink this week with the implementation of a formal policy to address such issues.
“The player code of conduct is something that has been a collaborative effort among all the majors and the major tours… We had a number of meetings to discuss the issue and how we could come up with a program that we feel is fair and effective,” Haigh said. “From our standpoint, which is all I can speak from the championship way, we have adopted the code of conduct… If a player does something sort of egregious, unfortunately, we would give a warning to that player, and if they were to do it again, there would be a two-shot penalty. And there’s a sort of number of sort of examples in the code that sort of gives us some guidance.”
Whether Rahm’s incident represents such a violation or will be viewed as an innocent mishap remains to be seen. Whatever the case, we hope it’s a wake-up call for the two-time major winner. Rahm finished his opening round with back-to-back birdies after the incident to finish with a one-under 69. Punishment or no punishment, perhaps he has learned his lesson already.
