Kenny Pigman, one of 20 PGA professionals competing alongside the touring pros at this week’s PGA Championship, was preparing to tee off on Oak Hill Country Club’s par-4 18th hole on Thursday when he heard someone yell, “Fore!”
That someone was apparently Bryson DeChambeau, who from the group behind had just hit his approach on the par-4 17th.
One problem: DeChambeau’s second shot flared out some 40 yards wide and struck Pigman. Luckily, DeChambeau’s warning allowed Pigman enough time to duck, and the ball appeared to narrowly miss Pigman’s head before hitting him in the upper back.
“Coming out of the rough, you don’t know exactly what the ball is gonna do. He wasn’t aiming for me,” Pigman told a few reporters, including Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner. “It stung pretty bad.”
This is the second straight year that a competitor was hit by a shot at the PGA. Last year at Southern Hills, Aaron Wise was hit in the head by a Cam Smith drive. ESPN’s Sage Steele was also hit that week in Tulsa, Oklahoma, though she was hospitalized after being hit in the face by a Jon Rahm drive.
DeChambeau would bogey No. 17, and Pigman bogeyed No. 18 as well. But DeChambeau bounced back with a birdie at No. 18, making the turn at 1 under, just two shots off the lead, before finishing off a 4-under 66, good for the early lead.
Full-field scores from the PGA Championship
Pigman, meanwhile, equaled Shaun Micheel for worst score of the day, an 11-over 81.
“Oh yeah, it’s sore,” Pigman said of his welt. “It’s sore, but it doesn’t hurt my swing. Now there’s an excuse.”
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