Jon Rahm committed the cardinal sin against Phil Mickelson during the first round of LIV Golf Jeddah but Lefty pulled a rabbit out of the hat.
Jon Rahm acknowledged feeling guilty after prematurely praising Phil Mickelson for a good shot during the first round at LIV Golf Jeddah. Anthony Kim received a lot of attention for his score of 6-over 76, placing him in last position after the first 18 holes.
On the opposite end of the leaderboard, Rahm once again achieved a low score on LIV and is currently tied for the early lead at 8-under with Adrian Meronk, who was not chosen for the 2023 European Ryder Cup team.
“Mickelson was trailing Rahm by three shots at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, but the situation could have been much more challenging.”
Fortunately for Mickelson he pulled a rabbit out of the hat and escaped with a par on one hole when it looked like a double or worse.
Mickelson’s tee shot at the par-3 16th eventually came to rest by the rocks next to the green. Getting the ball on the short stuff was an impossibility.
In the air, his tee shot looked beautiful. And Rahm thought so himself. “Good shot, Phil,” the reigning Masters champion told his playing partner.
Lefty called for a ruling and after a few minutes ended up taking a drop in the second cut of rough. He holed out for par and then started to laugh.
Watch the shot here:
“Later on, Rahm clarified that he felt bad when he was teeing off because it was clear that the other player was pleased to have made a three, and his shot was of such high quality.” We were all quite surprised that it didn’t travel a few more yards.
“We witnessed its landing, I paused for a moment or two, and then complimented Phil by saying ‘Nice shot’.” “And the next time I glanced up, I saw the ball rolling off the putting green.”
“He recounted: “I was thinking the whole time as I walked up to the green next to him, should I say something, what should I say now.
So when he made the chip shot, I told him, ‘Thank goodness,’ and then I explained to him exactly what had happened, which is why we were both laughing.” “I was just feeling disappointed.
These types of incidents happen frequently in golf. The shot he made was exceptional and he definitely earned that three.”
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