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 admitted he felt horrible after telling Phil Mickelson he played a ‘nice shot’ way too early in round one at LIV Golf Jeddah.
All of the attention was understandably on Anthony Kim who returned a scorecard of of 6-over 76 to sit dead last after 18 holes.
Whereas at the other end of the leaderboard Rahm went low on LIV once again, sharing the early lead on 8-under with the 2023 European Ryder Cup snub Adrian Meronk.
Phil Mickelson found himself three shots behind Rahm at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club but it could’ve been a whole lot worse.
Fortunately for Phil 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.
Phil 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:
You know when @PhilMickelson takes the flagstick out…
Class is in session 👀#LIVGolf @HyFlyers_GC pic.twitter.com/5Ls7Sg3ZTM
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) March 1, 2024
Later, Rahm explained: “I felt horrible on the tee because obviously he was happy to make a three, and he hit such a good quality shot in there.
“I think all of us were surprised that it didn’t turn in a couple more yards.
“We saw it land, I gave it the courtesy second or two, and then I said, ‘Good shot, Phil’.
“And then the next time I look up, the ball is going down off the green.
He continued: “[I] spent the entire hole walking up to the green next to him thinking, do I say anything, what do I say now, so when he chipped in, I told him, ‘Man, thank God,’ and I told him exactly what happened, and that’s why we were laughing.
“I just felt bad. It’s one of those things that happen in golf. It was such a beautiful shot. He deserved that three.”
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