Adam Schenk’s ball lands in spectator’s drink at The American Express
2 Min Read
It wasn’t a hole-in-one, but it was the next closest thing.
During Thursday’s opening round at The American Express, Adam Schenk’s second shot on the par-5 16th hole at PGA WEST’s Pete Dye Stadium Course landed in a spectator’s drink – and the good fortune led to a birdie.
Schenk played a 3-iron from the center of the fairway, 264 yards away, and sailed his approach right of the green, tracking toward a collection of mounds where an unpredictable bounce appeared likely.
That is, until the ball landed gracefully in the plastic cup of a spectator, Brad Harmeyer, who was nursing a cranberry-flavored beverage on a sunny afternoon in the Coachella Valley.
Harmeyer's cup was properly positioned to catch the incoming ball, which deflected off Harmeyer's chest and softly into the cup, without spilling much of the drink. Harmeyer smiled, raised the glass in appreciation to fellow fans, and drank from the cup with the ball still floating.
Adam Schenk's wild birdie from a fan's drink at The American Express
Schenk smiled as he approached the scene, where Harmeyer – sporting a white long-sleeved shirt and gray vest – explained the scenario.
“I owe you a drink,” Schenk said, before signing the ball and giving it to Harmeyer.
“You have a nice look at (the hole) right here,” opined Harmeyer.
“That’s right,” Schenk agreed. “I’m very sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Harmeyer replied.
Schenk remarked that he had previously seen golf balls land in a chair’s cup holder and in a backpack – but never in a drink. The two engaged in banter about the weather – “Christmas in Jacksonville (Florida); it was freezing,” Schenk said. He also instructed his caddie to take a picture of himself with Harmeyer, before again expressing his dismay for ruining the vodka cranberry cocktail.
After receiving free relief, Schenk pitched to 10 feet and drained the birdie putt. The Purdue alumni proceeded to card a 2-under 70 in the opening round at the Stadium Course. The first three rounds of The American Express are contested across three courses: PGA WEST’s Pete Dye Stadium Course, Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club.
It’s another chapter of lore on the Stadium Course’s famed 16th hole, which features a cavernous bunker that wraps around the green’s left side described by Pete Dye as “the deepest greenside bunker this side of Mars.”
Schenk avoided that bunker, gained a friend and added another circle to the scorecard.