- Jon Rahm won the Memorial Tournament on Sunday, making him the number 1 golfer in the world.
- At number 3 par 3, Rahm was given a two-stroke penalty after his ball moved slightly while he was placing his club.
- The penalty did not affect Rahm’s win since he had already built a sizeable lead, but it did make a difference of $ 150,000 for an unfortunate bettor at DraftKings.
- Visit the Insider home page for more stories.
Jon Rahm fought in brutal conditions to maintain his leadership in the Memorial Tournament, pushing him to first place overall in the Official World Golf Ranking at just 25 years old.
After Rahm gave up three hits with a bogey and a double bogey to start the final nine, the potential was there for a disastrous collapse. But Rahm seemed to push those fears aside with an absolutely brilliant shot at par 3 No. 16.
After sending his shot off the tee to the field beyond the green, Rahm picked up an incredible loft on his second shot, throwing the ball straight into the air, landing it on the edge and rolling straight for the hole.
—PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 19, 2020
The shot drew immediate comparisons to Tiger Woods’ epic chip-in at the same hole, helping him seal his fifth victory in the tournament.
—GOLFonCBS (@GOLFonCBS) July 15, 2020
Rahm’s birdie served as an exclamation point in his final round, placing him well ahead of the field and almost assuring him of victory. Or so we think.
As the broadcast would later indicate, rule officials were investigating a possible violation after Rahm’s ball appeared to move as he was accommodating his club. The ball barely moves, perhaps a dimple or two, and it doesn’t seem to improve Rahm’s lie in any way, but the rules of golf aren’t exactly the most forgiving.
—PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 20, 2020
Rahm was given a two-stroke penalty for the infraction, but since he was already standing at tee 18, he was not informed of the penalty until after his round. Fortunately, Rahm finished No. 18 with an easy pair, making penalty strokes not a problem regarding the outcome of the tournament.
When asked about the possible penalty, Rahm was clearly surprised by the revelation. “I didn’t see or feel anything,” said Rahm. “If he did, it is what it is. If we consider it to be a penalty stroke, it is a penalty stroke. But honestly, it doesn’t take anything away from the shot.”
For Rahm, it was easy to remain calm in the face of the news. While it must have been disappointing to discover that his fantastic little bird had become a ghost, his victory was certain, as was the $ 1.6 million that came with the victory. Life was good!
But Rahm was not the only one with money at stake with his performance. According to Action Network’s Jason Sobel, an unlucky gambler lost $ 150,000 thanks to the two-stroke penalty that evaluated Rahm.
Before the penalty was accounted for, the DraftKings user DraftMasterFlex was leading a final round tournament on Sunday at the daily fantasy site, ready to take home the top prize of $ 200,000. But when Rahm’s birdie became a ghost, the swing on DraftKings’ scoring system sent DraftMasterFlex out of first place, leaving him with just $ 50,000 in profit, still a good day at the office, but $ 150,000 less than Where he had been.
As Sobel pointed out, other bets, such as head-to-head engagements involving Rahm in the fourth round, could also have been affected by the penalty kicks.
Rahm’s two-stroke penalty didn’t affect his bottom line on Sunday, but for a bettor, those two strokes were worth six figures.
NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace initially thought Trump’s tweet demanding an apology from him was from a parody account
Conor McGregor is living his best life on Instagram, smoking, drinking cocktails and continuing his 32nd birthday celebrations.
Bryson DeChambeau raised 7 protein shakes a day and is breaking the sport of golf in a way that we haven’t seen since Tiger Woods.
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus revealed that he had a coronavirus in March, but says he only experienced a ‘sore throat and cough’
