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One of the prominent figures in golf, Jon Rahm, has criticized the presence of gambling in the sport following an incident at the BMW Championship held at Olympia Fields in Chicago over the weekend.
The incident involved fellow golfer Max Homa, who was in a tie for fourth place during his third round of play.
As Homa prepared to putt, a spectator shouted “pull it” in an attempt to distract Homa and make him miss the shot. However, Homa successfully made the putt and proceeded to firmly address the spectator. Subsequently, the fan was removed from the golf course.
“There was an individual, likely under the influence of alcohol – at least I hope so, otherwise he’s just a complete loser – who was cheering and taunting (playing partner) Chris (Kirk) for missing his putt,” Homa explained. “He continued to yell, and one of them even had a bet of $3 that I would miss mine. Just as I was about to make my stroke, he loudly shouted, ‘Pull it!’
“I managed to sink it right in the middle, and that’s when I started yelling back at him.”
Homa referred to the fan as a clown, adding that his caddie, Joe Greiner, was even more direct in his response.
Rahm addressed the incident during a media interview on Tuesday, leading up to the Tour Championship, the final event of the season.
“That kind of thing happens more frequently than you might think,” Rahm informed reporters. “It’s quite common. In golf, spectators are in close proximity. Even if they’re not directly addressing you, they’re close enough that if they say to their friend, ‘I bet you $10 he’s going to miss it,’ you can hear it.”
Rahm expressed concern about the potential escalation of such behavior.
“You don’t want it to spiral out of control, do you?” he expressed. “It’s incredibly easy – I mean, really, really easy – in golf to disrupt someone’s concentration. You’re so close that a poorly timed shout can have a significant impact.”
According to the Source brobible.com