Jon Rahm has promised to track down a volunteer to apologise after a bizarre accident in the first round of the PGA Championship saw the Spaniard hit the man in the face with a divot.
The incident unfolded shortly after Rahm hit a poor approach into the seventh, with the former world No 1 then lashing out in anger by slamming his club against the ground and inadvertently launching a clod of earth at the nearby volunteer.
Rahm apologised immediately and stated after his opening 69 that he would seek out the man with a gift.
In explaining the episode, he said: ‘I got a flier on my second shot that went long. It's not a good spot. Just out of frustration, I tried to make an air swing, just over the grass, and I wasn't looking, took a divot, and unfortunately, I hit a volunteer.
‘It hit him in the shoulder and then the face - I couldn't feel any worse. That's why I was there apologizing.
‘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.’
Rahm had a brighter moment when he holed out for eagle on the second hole, immediately after coughing up a bogey from the middle of the fairway on the previous hole.
The LIV golfer said: ‘I mean, what can I say? It was a phenomenal shot, a really good wedge shot. I came off that first green kicking myself because it was a wrong choice of shot for such a good drive - 105 yards away downwind, it was the wrong shot choice.
‘Go to the next hole, and I have a very similar number, at least I have to play it the same number into the wind. Obviously a lot more committed with the right decision, and hit a great shot, obviously the luck of seeing it go in, right?’
