Max Homa had a scary moment at The Players Championship on Saturday when, after finding trouble off the tee, his next shot almost struck multiple spectators lining the 14th hole.
Playing the par 4, Homa ended up making a quintuple bogey nine and, on the basis of how close the shot was to taking out the fans, we can understand why, with his fourth shot barely clearing the heads of the spectators, eventually colliding with a tree and finishing in the fairway bunker.
My view of it you can see it hit the tree above their heads and it actually bounced back into the fairway pic.twitter.com/sFJmqE2ltvMarch 17, 2024
Max just caught a body today 😯 #THEPLAYERS via: donotcaro_ (TikTok) pic.twitter.com/ohkYxu3vPMMarch 17, 2024
Speaking to the media about the video on Sunday, Homa stated: "Yeah, it was the tree (I hit). I asked them to back up and they backed up their usual three or four steps and I was trying to go much higher than that (shot).
"At some point... I probably should have asked them to move more, but I didn't think I was going to knife it. Typically though, you ask them to move and it's two steps back and I... I think I've thrown caution to the wind at times with their own safety. So I am glad I didn't hit anybody. It was scary, I was trying to go significantly higher than that. I gave some guys a good story."
Following the news that everyone in the area was safe, social media had a range of reactions to the incident, with everyone from Tour pros to fans commenting on the near miss from Homa.
WTF 🙈🙈🙈🙈 https://t.co/zRDDmHBanzMarch 17, 2024
Guy shouldn’t have been standing there. Max is just trying to do his job pic.twitter.com/K2Q9S71ZzdMarch 17, 2024
Same vibes @Maxhoma https://t.co/KTMl3XdlPr pic.twitter.com/73obA8CxZLMarch 17, 2024
Wow 😮 Mind you doesn’t surprise me as when you see how close people get at times it’s absolutely crazy! 🤯 https://t.co/FIEYU6IfJVMarch 17, 2024
Fans being struck by golf balls is not something you hear about often, on the professional circuits at least, but it has happened previously.
Back in 2023, Padraig Harrington accidently struck a fan at the PGA Seniors Championship on the 16th hole of the final round. Following the incident, the three-time Major winner bought the fan dinner, with Harrington stating: "I bought him a dinner. He nutted my ball back to the fairway. So, yeah, like, you give him a glove, but it never really seems adequate to give a guy a glove. He's a grown man, like what's he want with a glove with my signature? So I thought - he said his wife was inside - but, please take your wife out for dinner on me was the sort of thing. I don't know, I hope I gave him enough for dinner."
