Golf
A recent major champion stands on the third tee at Riviera Country Club. It’s the second round of one of golf’s marquee events, and he hits a poor drive, the kind of shot at the wrong moment that just sets you off. He can’t stand it. He smashes his driver into the nearby cart path, so hard the driver head explodes. Shrapnel flies into the crowd. One large chunk shoots just by a spectator and continues into a nearby fairway. Chaos.
The spectator and her husband shout at the player. So do other gallery members. He mumbles an apology.
The PGA Tour finds out. It sends a letter of inquiry to the player. He doesn’t respond for at least two weeks, is hit with a hefty fine and must pen a letter of apology to the spectators he nearly hit. It’s an embarrassing public moment for both the player and the tour.
Amidst the last few months of viral golf explosions, unconvincing apologies and a dramatic banishment from one of golf’s most iconic venues, you might be assuming this is a story from the summer of 2025. You might be wondering if it was Wyndham Clark, or Rory McIlroy, or perhaps Tyrrell Hatton.
