[PHOTO: Andrew Redington]
It comes as no surprise to anyone when a viral video on social media is taken out of context. That’s what the internet is for and boy, business is boomin’.
The BMW PGA Championship had quite a few compelling storylines this week, from Ryan Fox’s ascendance to the Ryder Cup practice sessions, but a seemingly innocuous putt from T-45 finisher Robin Sciot-Siegrist has been making waves on Twitter/X/whatever you call it now.
☠️ Is this acceptable?
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) September 16, 2023
NUCLRGOLF, which has more than 67,000 followers, blasted out this footage of Pablo Larrazábal walking in front of Sciot-Siegrist’s putting line, and now almost four million people have watched the clip. “☠️ Is this acceptable?” the post reads.
Social media, always the arbiter of right and wrong, had a take or two. Most notably from six-time PGA Tour winner Hunter Mahan.
No. That would require a conversation.
— Hunter Mahan (@HunterMahan) September 16, 2023
“No,” Mahan responded. “That would require a conversation.” Many others followed his lead and shared their disgust with Larrazábal’s green etiquette.
Jail
— Ramp Capital (@RampCapitalLLC) September 16, 2023
unwritten, but not cool
— Cutter (@Cutterthecaddie) September 16, 2023
Me in the locker room after he did that 👊 pic.twitter.com/9UefWIpzAS
— Hollywood99 (@HLYWOOD99) September 16, 2023
Larrazábal must have seen the angry mob forming online as he crafted a quick and perfect tweet to quiet the crowd and give a bit more information about what actually happened.
That’s me, we were on the clock and hole and a half behind… play quick, play better…
— Pablo Larrazabal (@plarrazabal) September 16, 2023
“That’s me,” Larrazábal said. “We were on the clock and hole and a half behind… play quick, play better…”
With the added context, social media walked back its anger and quickly put the pitchforks down. When the idea of being “on the clock” pops up, everyone changes their tune. Larrazábal shot 12-over in his final round to finish the tournament at five-over, so maybe this etiquette hoopla isn’t the worst thing he’ll remember from the weekend.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com