Chez Reavie (squatting), Francesco Molnari (obscured), their caddies, an official and a cameraman on Thursday.

Golf Channel

“Bees! 

“Bees! 

“Bees! 

“Bees! 

“Bees! 

“Bees! 

“Bees!”

And that started one of many wildest, oddest and spookiest moments chances are you’ll ever see on a golf course. Although, if you happen to had been tuning in to the Mexico Open at simply the fitting second throughout Thursday’s first spherical, all of it additionally sort of seemed … humorous. 

“Turned on the Mexico Open and that is the very first thing I noticed…..” tweeted former player-turned-analyst Trevor Immelman. He included an image of two gamers, two caddies and a cameraman on the turf. And a laughing emoji. 

Certainly. To start, Erik van Rooyen, Francesco Molinari and Chez Reavie had been all enjoying the par-4 tenth at Vidanta Vallarta golf course. Molinari and Reavie had hit their approaches. Van Rooyen was about to. He was standing behind his ball. 

After which he crouched down. 

He waddled to his proper, towards his caddie, Alex Gaugert. 

Van Rooyen bought down on all fours. 

He cried, “Bees!” Seven or so instances. 

A cameraman — and his digicam — collapsed. So did an official.

Reavie squatted, and his caddie, Brady Stockton, went to the bottom. Molinari and caddie Pello Iguaran did the identical. 

A pack of bees had been enjoying by. 

“Oh my goodness,” on-course analyst Billy Ray Brown stated on the published. “Guys, I’m fortunate — I’m about 150 yards away however …” 

“That’s probably the most uncommon factor I’ve ever seen on the golf course — all people simply hit the deck,” analyst John Prepare dinner stated. “It’s like a fog of bees that simply blew by. Now the place are they going?”

Had van Rooyen ever seen something like that?

“One time,” he stated after the spherical. “I can’t recall the place precisely, however it was on a golf course in South Africa and one thing like I’m over the ball and you then hear like a ‘zzzzz,’ which is the sound that bees make. I search for and so they’re there and the identical factor occurred. 

“I used to be over the ball with a 4-iron, look again and I simply noticed them right here and I simply instructed my caddie, I’m like, ‘Bees, bees, bees,’ and he seems at me like I’m loopy. So I dropped down, then he sees them, he dropped down. Frankie and Chez, they take a look at me like I’m nuts after which they realized, like 30 seconds later, the bees simply went proper at them. It’s humorous, however actually don’t need to get stung by these unhealthy boys.”

That is true. For a couple of half-minute, gamers, caddies and cameraman stayed on the bottom. They began to snort. Finally, they bought up, and van Rooyen went again into his pre-shot routine. Afterward, he referred to as the reset easy. He ultimately hit simply to the fitting of the inexperienced, pitched on, one-putted for a par and completed with a seven-under 64 that put him a stroke behind chief Austin Smotherman. 

“I’ve been out doing this, on this Tour, for 30-plus years, and I’ve by no means seen something like that, anyplace,” Brown stated on the published.  

We’ll finish issues right here with the principles. 

In case you’re questioning, van Rooyen might have gotten reduction, below Rule 16.2. It partially reads: 

“A ‘harmful animal situation’ exists when a harmful animal (comparable to toxic snakes, stinging bees, alligators, hearth ants or bears) close to a ball might trigger severe bodily damage to the participant if she or he needed to play the ball because it lies. A participant could take reduction below Rule 16.2b from interference by a harmful animal situation irrespective of the place his or her ball is on the course, besides that reduction isn’t allowed:

“When enjoying the ball because it lies is clearly unreasonable due to one thing apart from the damaging animal situation (for instance, when a participant is unable to make a stroke due to the place the ball lies in a bush), or When interference exists solely as a result of the participant chooses a membership, kind of stance or swing or route of play that’s clearly unreasonable below the circumstances.”

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Nick Piastowski
Patacon.org Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Patacon.org and Golf Journal. In his position, he’s liable for modifying, writing and creating tales throughout the golf house. And when he’s not writing about methods to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native might be enjoying the sport, hitting the ball left, proper and brief, and consuming a chilly beer to clean away his rating. You may attain out to him about any of those subjects — his tales, his recreation or his beers — at [email protected].