By CNN
—
This was a vodka cranberry cocktail with a twist.
Playing the par-5 16th hole at the Pete Dye Stadium Course in La Quinta, California, at The American Express tournament on Thursday, Adam Schenk’s approach shot skewed right of the green towards an uninviting group of small rolling hills. A potentially horror bounce looked imminent.
Quietly observing the action from the comfort of his fold-up chair some 260 yards away was Brad Harmeyer. After feeling a gentle impact on his chest and the sound of a splash, Harmeyer looked down to see a white orb floating in his cocktail.
Uninjured and suffering minimal spill to his drink, Harmeyer raised his glass and sipped from it before greeting an apologetic Schenk, who signed the ball before giving it to him to keep.
“I owe you a drink … I’m very sorry,” Schenk said, according to the PGA Tour, who shared footage of the incident on X.
Insisting the golfer had nothing to apologize for, Harmeyer remarked that – given the free relief he would receive for the shot – Schenk would have “a nice look,” and his evaluation was proven correct when the world No. 48 chipped onto the green before holing out from 10 feet for birdie.
Unfortunately for Schenk, a double bogey at the subsequent hole would immediately scupper his first-round progress, as he closed with a two-under 70 to finish the day tied-98th.
It left the 31-year-old – chasing his first win on the PGA Tour – eight shots behind the leading duo, compatriot Zach Johnson and Sweden’s Alex Noren.
Johnson, 47, captained Team USA as they suffered another Ryder Cup defeat on European soil in Rome last year, and is relishing the relative normalcy of life on the PGA Tour.
“Put a lot of good work in as of late,” Johnson, a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour, told reporters after his round.
“Actually been a lot of normal golf work, given what happened last year with what I was responsible for, which was awesome.
“All systems go. It’s just one day, so I got to keep the ship straight and narrow and hopefully keep it going.”
