A Shane Lowry shot from the tee struck a man during Sunday’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
During his tee shot on the 15th hole, Lowry hit his ball 297 yards just to the right of the fairway and struck a tournament volunteer who had been standing on that side of the course.
The man, who had been wearing a blue golf shirt and black cap, appeared to be struck in the left shoulder and crumpled to the ground in pain almost immediately.
The ball bounced and rolled up another several yards before finally coming to a stop.
The announcers on the CBS broadcast reported that the volunteer had been OK despite getting hit with the ball.
Lowry reportedly caught a little bit of heat on the Sky Sports broadcast from commentator Andrew Coltart, who felt the Irishman could have done more to warn the person struck by the ball.
“Didn’t hear him shout ‘fore’. We need to be hearing players shout ‘fore’,” Coltart said on the broadcast, according to talkSPORT.
Lowry ended the Pebble Beach Pro-Am finishing in second place shooting 4-under par in the final round of the tournament and coming up just short of Rory McIlroy.
Lowry had seen his share of the lead slip away on the sixth hole after he sent his second shot over a cliff on the sixth hole.
He finished with a 68 in the final round after shooting 31 on the back nine.
McIlroy took control of the lead on the 10th hole when he sunk an 18-foot birdie putt.
“It’s a really cool way to start the season,” McIlroy said, according to the Associated Press. “To get this win this early means a great deal, and hopefully I’ll keep the momentum going into Torrey Pines in a couple weeks’ time.”
