Watch: Marc Leishman nearly hits Corey Conners with bladed bunker shot
Maybe if they are partners at Quail Hollow later this year, Corey Conners will take one for the team.
But as playing competitors at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, the Canadian instinctively dodged Marc Leishman’s errant bunker shot on Thursday.
Leishman, in greenside bunker on the par-3 17th at TPC Potomac, shanked his second shot and sent it rifling right, in the direction of Conners and Conners’ caddie. The pair was able to avoid a direct hit, but Leishman’s ball wasn’t able to avoid the water.
The Aussie, coming off four consecutive birdies, eventually made triple-bogey 6. He then birdied the par-4 18th, his ninth hole of the day, to make the turn in 1 under par. Had Conners (or his caddie) been hit by the ball, there would have been no penalty. Rule 11.1, Ball in Motion Accidentally Hits Person or Outside Influence, states there is no penalty if one’s ball in motion accidentally hits someone or something.
Leishman, like Conners, is looking to earn a spot on this year’s International Presidents Cup team. The matches will take place in late September at Quail Hollow, which normally hosts the Wells Fargo event but was replaced this week.