A tasteless joke with the sole purpose of grabbing attention and gaining a handful of views has ended with a maximum penalty at the noisiest tournament on the PGA Tour calendar. The streamer Jack Doherty was expelled from TPC Scottsdale by the police and, as seen in a video shared on social media, an organiser informed him of a lifetime ban from attending any American circuit event.
What happened?
According to the video that has been shared, Doherty offered 100 dollars to a fan to shout “jack@ss” (an insult similar to idiot in English) just during the backswing of Mackenzie Hughes in a shot from the bunker. The action took place during the competition at the WM Phoenix Open, where the atmosphere is festive and crowded… but that does not mean interfering with a player’s shot is tolerated, especially in such an intentional and inappropriate manner.
In the video itself, you can see how the officers quickly act to remove him from the playing area, and how a security officer/member notifies him of the penalty. It is not a simple expulsion for the day: the announced measure is the most severe.
Beyond the striking nature of the case, the underlying issue is serious: interrupting the swing is not folklore even at the Phoenix Open, but a behaviour that will be punished with the utmost severity, lest someone else tries to imitate it in the future.
The PGA Tour and the tournaments have been tightening the reins on behaviours that cross the line for years, and this incident is a reminder that the crowd can be noisy… but cannot influence the shot.
The full clip has been shared on X via the account NUCLR GOLF:
https://x.com/NUCLRGOLF/status/2019965997441069161
