Fans love getting up close to the action but it almost cost golf fans following Max Homa at The Players’ Championship dearly.
On Saturday, the American had a tough time on hole 14 as he looked to play himself up the leaderboard going into the final day.
He hit nine for a quintuple bogey on the hole but of more concern was the moment he nearly struck specators as he tried to play his way out of trouble.
His first attempt of the tee ended in the drink but a second found the trees leaving him in an unenviable position.
As he lined up his recovery shot, a swarm of fans gathered round to watch the 33-year-old.
Homa gave them a warning about how close they were but still they encroached.
And when he let fly, they realised just why he’d given them the heads up.
Footage in front of and behind Homa showed just how close to serious injury the spectators were.
Front on video shows the ball fly just over one fan, while the shot from behind shows it strike a tree above their heads.
Such was the velocity of the ball, a puff of dust and debris can be seen to fly off the tree.
Afterwards, Homa reflected on the sceenes with relief.
“Yeah it hit a tree,” he told reporters.
When asked if people stand too close, he added: “Yeah mostly.
“I asked them to back up and they backed up around three or four steps.
“I was trying to go much higher than that but… I guess I should have asked them to move more but I didn’t know I was going to knife it.
“Typically you ask them to move and and it’s like two steps back.
“I just think they’re throwing caution to the wind at times with their own safety.
“I’m glad I did not hit anybody. It was scary.
“I was trying to go significantly higher than that.”
News Summary:
- Shocking footage shows ‘scary’ moment Max Homa nearly hits spectators at The Players with fierce drive despite warning
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