AR
For golf fans to learn not to stand so close to the action, something terrible is going to have to happen. Something terrible almost did happen at the Australian Open over the weekend.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the making of this half-shank by LIV Golf’s Caleb Surratt, who managed a T-8 finish at Royal Melbourne. We’re not quite sure how, though, because he had to have been pretty shaken up after this:
@jackcampbell976 Need the head on a swivel out here #ausopen ♬ original sound – Jack Campbell
Unfortunately, no one will learn from this near-death experience. The lesson being that no matter how good these guys are, there’s still a small percentage chance of them hitting a shot so poor that it badly maims someone who decided it was a good idea to stand directly in the line of fire.
It’s happened before and it will happen again. The 2024 Players Championship instantly jumps to mind. Max Homa was attempting to take a shot from some pinestraw up high and over a tree on the 14th hole, and one fan had the frontest of front row seats to what happened next:
@betr Bro was asking to be hit… #theplayers #golf #pgatour #pga #maxhoma #scary #ohno ♬ original sound – Betr
Just a few weeks ago, a guy got hit by a Sophie Cunningham tee shot during a LPGA Pro-Am. Note: Sophie Cunningham plays professional basketball, not professional golf:
@espnw #Golf is dangerous 😅 (via @LPGA) #lpga #wnba #CaitlinClark #sophiecunningham ♬ original sound – espnW
Incredibly, this is not uncommon at celebrity events, or any version of these creator classics, either. When people go to be spectators at golf events, they for some reason have no issue taking their life into their own hands, regardless of who is hitting the shots. It’s quite the strange phenomenon, and I hope it doesn’t take a bad shot to someone’s dome, or something much worse, to get folks to back up.
Follow Golf Digest Middle East on social media
Main Image: Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images
