Jon Rahm Admits Gambling Talk Happens ‘Every Single Round’
A fan was ejected at the BMW Championship for trying to manipulate their bet
Betting on sports has grown dramatically in recent years, and it's a reality golfers have tried to learn to get used to.
Longtime gambler Billy Walters revealed in his new book that Phil Mickelson bet up to $1 billion in the past three decades. It was an eye-popping figure, but ESPN "First Take" panelist Chris "Mad Dog" Russo didn't take kindly to the revelation and claimed it wasn't that big of a deal since all the top golfers bet, including Tiger Woods. Of course, very little context was added to that statement.
The Netflix documentary "Full Swing" did indeed show golfers like Justin Thomas and Jordan Speith competing in high-stakes wagers with putting competitions or other challenges among friends. But it sounds like those wagers also happen during tournaments among fans.
"That happens way more often than you guys may hear," Rahm told reporters Tuesday ahead of this week's Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, per ESPN's Mark Schlabach. "I mean, it's very, very present. In golf, spectators are very close, and even if they're not directly talking to you, they're close enough to where if they say to their buddy, 'I bet you 10 bucks he's going to miss it,' you hear it."
Rahm alleged this kind of action took place "every single round," and a fan was caught yelling during a putt in an attempt to win their bet.
"PGA Tour president Tyler Dennis confirmed Tuesday that a fan was ejected from the third round of last week's BMW Championship for allegedly yelling 'Pull it!' while Max Homa was attempting a short putt on the 17th green at Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago," Schlabach wrote. "Homa told reporters that the fan had bet $3 on him to miss the putt. Homa made the 5-footer."
The PGA said it would take extra security measures but admitted this has not become a rampant issue yet, and Rahm also noted most fans are good at respecting golfers.
"You're hearing the positive," Rahm said. "'I got 20 bucks you make birdie here,' things like that. But no, it's more often than you think. It's not caught on TV maybe, but it's something that happens, yeah."
Rahm added" "You don't want it to get out of hand, right? It's very easy -- very, very easy -- in golf if you want to affect somebody. You're so close, you can yell at the wrong time, and it's very easy for that to happen."
Rory McIlroy also caught the bright side of fans betting on him when he won the Scottish Open on July 16, but it's likely the PGA is hoping fans don't take things too far when they lose a bet on a golfer.
