Brooklyn, Massachusetts. The tough play of the Country Club could make it easier for the world’s best players to lose a golf ball at the 122nd US Open this week.
Especially when two young spectators run away with her.
This is exactly what happened to defending the US Open champion John Ram On the 18th hole in the first round on Thursday. After his tee pulled his shot 301 yards into the thick jagged left of the fairway, two kids ran with the ball.
“I’m sure I know who it was,” Ram said after his tour. “I recognized the two kids who were running in the opposite direction with a smile on their face. I’m 100% sure I saw the two kids who stole it.”
Luckily for Ram, he got a free drop and had an unobstructed pass to the 18th green. He pushed his second shot to 21 feet and made the jumper shoot. Finished at 1-under 69.
“I’m really glad someone spotted the ball first,” Ram said. “We knew exactly where it was. I was comfortable off the tee. I passed by all the trees. It was downwind. I wasn’t trying to go far to the left, but I was trying to grab it over the trees and over the bunkers.”
“After the free rest, I had 135 yards of the pin, in an area where the roughness wasn’t that thick. I don’t think they expected anyone to hit it in there or be in there, so I was able to throw it in an area that was a little low hangover. They didn’t. I was in danger of carrying the lair. That wasn’t really a concern.”
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