Watching a Jordan Spieth round nowadays is like being on a roller coaster.
For one golf fan during Friday’s second round at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, watching Spieth also came with a surprise bruise.
As the Texas native teed off on the 16th hole, his tee shot went so far right that he hit a spectator directly on the elbow. Luckily for Spieth, the ball bounced off the fan’s elbow right onto the green.
The spectator was thankfully O.K., even though he is walking away from the tournament with a huge welt near his elbow. Spieth gave him a signed ball and glove to apologize for the injury but also thanking him for help on the shot.
The fan appeared to be in good spirits despite the unfortunate injury.
Spieth ended up bogeying the 16th hole even with the fan’s help to put him on the green. He missed the cut for this week’s tournament after finishing four-under par.
Last week: Jake Knapp won the Mexico Open at Vidanta.
Notes: The tournament again leads off the Florida swing under a new name. Cognizant takes over as title sponsor of what previously was the Honda Classic. ... Rory McIlroy is playing to beef up his pre-Masters schedule. He last played the tournament in 2018. ... Six of the seven winners on the PGA Tour this year were outside the top 50 in the world ranking. The exception was Wyndham Clark, No. 10 when he won at Pebble Beach. ... This is the last tournament for the leading top 10 in the FedEx Cup and the leading five players in âswing categoryâ to earn a spot in Bay Hill next week. ... Since turning pro after winning The American Express, U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap finished in last place at Pebble Beach and missed the cut at Riviera. He is in the field this week. ... NCAA champion Fred Biondi, who turned pro last year, received a sponsor exemption. ... The field features five of the top 25 in the world ranking.
Last week: Patty Tavatanakit won the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Notes: This is the second of three straight weeks in Asia. The HSBC Womenâs World Championship dates to 2008 and typically gets a strong field. ... Jin Young Ko is going for her third straight title in Singapore. ... Lorena Ochoa set the course record of 268 in 2008, the inaugural year of the tournament. ... The field features eight of the top 10 in the womenâs world ranking, missing only Nelly Korda and Charley Hull. ... Atthaya Thitikul, No. 11 in the world, has an injured left thumb and does not plan to return until the end of March. ... Former U.S. Womenâs Open champion In Gee Chun is playing on a sponsorâs invitation. ... Minjee Lee is in the field, playing for the first time this year on the LPGA Tour. ... Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis has named Paula Creamer, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lincicome and Morgan Pressel as assistants for this yearâs matches in Virginia.
Last tournament: Dustin Johnson won LIV Golf Las Vegas.
Notes: Brooks Koepka is going for his third straight LIV victory in Saudi Arabia. The tournament was played in the fall the last two seasons. ... Anthony Kim is expected to make his LIV debut as an individual. Kim has not competed anywhere since May 2012 at the Wells Fargo Championship. He is now 38. ... Dustin Johnsonâs victory in Las Vegas makes him the first player to win in each of the three seasons of LIV Golf. Among those with a chance to match him this week are Koepka and Cameron Smith. ... Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Harold Varner III and Abraham Ancer have all won in Saudi Arabia outside the LIV Golf League. ... Jon Rahmâs new team is leading the standings after two events. ... Joaquin Niemann was the only LIV Golf player who received a special invitation to the Masters based on his European tour performances in the offseason. ... Patrick Reed is no longer among the top 100 in the world.
Last week: Darius van Driel won the Magical Kenya Open.
Notes: The tournament is co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour of South Africa. ... This is the second of three straight tournaments on the African continent. ... The field features only four players from the top 100 in the world. The highest-ranked player is Rikuya Hoshino, who is at No. 81. ... South Africa only has five players in the top 100 in the world. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who plays the PGA Tour, is the top-ranked South African at No. 59. ... Only two players from Nos. 126-200 in the FedEx Cup last year are in the field, Matthias Schwab and Jonas Blixt. Dylan Frittelli was in that category until winning earlier this year to get full European tour membership. ... Keita Nakajima, a former world No. 1 amateur, is in the field. He is eligible from winning the Japan Golf Tour money title last year. ... The tournament only became part of the European tour schedule last year.
Asian Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia: New Zealand Open, Millbrook GC (Coronet and Remarkables), Arrowtown, New Zealand. Defending champion: Brendan Jones. Online: https://asiantour.com/ and https://pga.org.au/.
The Louisville Metro Police Department released a series of photos Friday depicting the aftermath of officer Bryan Gillis's encounter with golfer Scottie Scheffler outside of Valhalla Golf Club on May 17.
The photos featured a picture of Gillis's left knee, which was slightly scraped, a rip in the back of the officer's pants, and a small cut near his wrist.
Gillis also had a wrist injury. he said he didn't need EMS but another office said it was protocol. pic.twitter.com/PWPQCIugi7
On that morning of May 17, Scheffler was commuting to the golf course to prepare for the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship when he attempted to drive around traffic caused by a fatal accident. Cops at the sceneâincluding Gillisâtold Scheffler to pull over and arrested him.
Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. Scheffler said in a statement shortly after the incident that it was all a big misunderstanding, and on May 29, all charges against the golfer were dropped.
The police report filed on the day of the incident alleged that Scheffler refused to comply with an officer's request to stop and continued to drive forward, dragging Gillis to the ground. Gillis was taken to the hospital to treat minor injuries. The report also stated that Gillis's $80 pants were "damaged beyond repair."
After the charges were dropped last month, Gillis filed a statement and finished it off by referencing the pants.
"Yes, the department has us buying freaking $80 pants," Gillis wrote. "To those concerned, they were indeed ruined. But Scottie, itâs all good. I never wouldâve guessed Iâd have the most famous pair of pants in the country for a few weeks because of this. Take care and be safe.â
Scheffler finished tied for eighth place at the PGA Championship. He tied for second place the following weekend at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
C.T. Pan had an eventful final round at the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday, to say the least.
Pan's usual caddie, Mike "Fluff" Cowan, was on the bag for him during the entire tournament up until he fell on the third hole at Hamilton Golf and Country Club on Sunday.
Pan needed to think quickly about who to use as his caddie for the rest of the round. He ended up selecting a fan out of the crowd who sounded ready for the job.
That fan only caddied on the fourth hole (which Pan bogeyed) until Mike Campbell, a worker from caddy services at the course, stepped in to finish out the front nine.
After the ninth hole, Al Riddell, who is the caddy for Paul Barjon (he missed the cut), took over on the back nine for Pan. What a saga.
đ¨ C.T. Panâs caddie, the legend Mike âFluffâ Cowan slipped coming down the hill on the 3rd hole and was unable to continue caddying. A random fan was asked to carry his clubs the rest of the day. đ˛
Riddell was apparently watching the ordeal unfold while at home, as Barjon wasn't playing the weekend, and he raced over to the course to help Pan out, according to Sportsnet's Adam Stanley. What a heroic move.
Pan finished one-under on the day, with a final score of three-under.