Mark Schlabach, ESPN
ATLANTA — Even though a PGA Tour spokesperson said the tour has not seen an increase in spectators attempting to distract golfers for betting purposes, Jon Rahm said Tuesday that players hear about gambling “every single round.”
“That happens way more often than you guys may hear,” Rahm told reporters Tuesday at a news conference ahead of this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. “I mean, it’s very, very present. In golf, spectators are very close, and even if they’re not directly talking to you, they’re close enough to where if they say to their buddy, ‘I bet you 10 bucks he’s going to miss it,’ you hear it.”
PGA Tour president Tyler Dennis confirmed Tuesday that a fan was ejected from the third round of last week’s BMW Championship for allegedly yelling “Pull it!” while Max Homa was attempting a short putt on the 17th green at Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago. Homa told reporters that the fan had bet $3 on him to miss the putt. Homa made the 5-footer.
“I love that people can gamble on golf, but that is one thing I’m worried about,” Homa said. “It’s just always something that’s on your mind. It’s on us to stay focused or whatever, but it’s just annoying when it happens. … Fans are so great about being quiet when we play. I think they are awesome. When anybody ever talks, it’s so unintentional. They don’t know we’re hitting. It just sucks when it’s incredibly intentional.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said the incident was “unfortunate.”
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