Koepka hit his drive into the trees left Friday on the 7th hole at TPC Southwind. A day earlier, during the first round of the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, DeChambeau had hit his in a similar spot – then asked a rules official if he could take a drop after claiming to see red ants near his ball. He was eventually denied.
“Uh, oh, that’s in red antville,” Golf Channel analyst Nick Faldo said after Koepka’s drive.
Koepka took two half-swings when he got to his ball. He backed away. He pointed to a spot on the ground with his club.
“There’s an ant,” Koepka said to caddie Ricky Elliott.
Koepka paused. Elliott stepped in to look.
“No, I’m just kidding,” Koepka said.
Koepka was on the 16th hole of his second round. (He started on the back nine.) He was even-par at that point after starting the day with a two-stroke lead. He took a shot before his shot.
“Bryson is definitely causing some entertainment out there,” Faldo said after the comment.
Koepka punched out and eventually bogeyed the hole.
“I hope he didn’t kill him,” Faldo said of the ant as Koepka’s punch-out rolled to the green. “That’s the only one.”
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.