PGA Tour stars bust-up and DeChambeau apology at | Golf News

The fourth version of the Mexico Open at Vidanta Vallarta concluded on Sunday, with the champion of the par-71 occasion Brian Campbell strolling away with a hefty $1.26 million from the overall prize fund of ($7M) after a playoff thriller.

A spot within the Arnold Palmer Invitational was additionally up for grabs, with 500 FedEx Cup factors being awarded at one of probably the most lavish golf programs on the PGA Tour. Last yr’s champion was Jake Knapp, who secured his first PGA Tour triumph at the beautiful resort.

And within the aftermath of a thrilling 2025 version, we revisit some of probably the most chaotic and unforgettable moments from current years at the Mexico Open.

DeChambeau apologises

One such incident concerned Bryson DeChambeau, who needed to publicly apologize following an indignant outburst during the primary day of the 2019 Mexico Open. The American was visibly upset together with his opening spherical efficiency, which noticed him wrestle notably on the greens, ending with a four-over 75 with out a single birdie.

Finishing the day 12 pictures behind chief Rory McIlroy, he instantly headed to the observe placing inexperienced to hone his short recreation. However, his frustration was caught on stay TV as British broadcasters Nick Dougherty and Rich Beem have been discussing the day’s highlights, with DeChambeau seen grabbing his putter from his caddie and slamming it into the sting of the placing inexperienced.

He was fast to restore the harm together with his pitchmark software, however the incident gained traction on social media, whereas DeChambeau acquired a lot of criticism for his outburst. Tournament officers thought-about fining him for his match of anger, after which he tweeted an apology forward of the second spherical, promising to work arduous to improve his temperament.

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“I want to apologize to my fans, fellow players and the staff at Chapultepec for my actions following the round yesterday,” DeChambeau stated. “I am an extremely passionate player and I am always working on ways to be better. I am certainly not perfect but I respect the grounds staff and the game of golf and am focused on working harder on this just like I do on my golf game.”

Driving vary bust-up

Two PGA Tour stars nearly bought into a bodily altercation at a Mexico Open driving vary the earlier yr. In January 2022, the late-Grayson Murray publicly criticized Kevin Na, now competing on the LIV Golf circuit, through X (previously often called Twitter), berating the time he took to hit putts.

Murray wrote: “Kevin Na taking 3 minutes to putt them. Does get old.” Na, a five-time winner of PGA Tour occasions, hit back by tweeting: “U missing the cut is getting old!”

The feud appeared to have cooled down till Murray revealed on The Stripe Show podcast that the pair clashed on the vary at Vidanta, the place each had been competing. “I was hitting balls on the range, and just kind of had my head down walking to the chipping green,” Murray recalled. “Sure enough, I hear someone yelling and cussing at me.

“I will not repeat each phrase he stated, however mainly there was a lot of profanity concerned, and calling me a not-so-nice phrase about how I ought to have stated it to his face in particular person. He did not like that I did not tag him on the post, which I’m fairly sure I did.”

Murray, who tragically took his own life two years later, revealed that the confrontation almost escalated into physical violence, saying: “I guarantee each one of them may hear what he stated, and the caddies. I went proper up to his face and held my ground, and I informed him, if I wasn’t going to get suspended proper now I’d drop his a– proper there on the vary, as a result of what he stated was very immature and I do know he would not have stated it to me if we have been simply seeing one another exterior of the golf course.

“It was a very immature thing to say four months later, and to do it on the range, which he knows is his safe spot, he knows that I’m not going to do anything to him, he’s just provoking me.”

Attack of the bees

Unusual scenes unfolded during the primary spherical of the Mexico Open in 2023, when gamers have been seen dropping to the ground as a swarm of bees descended on the course. TV cameras caught South African Erik van Rooyen being attacked by a “fog of bees” as he lined up his second shot on the Par-4 tenth gap.

Van Rooyen needed to hit the deck to keep away from the swarm of bees during play. The on-course digicam captured Van Rooyen’s taking part in companions – Francesco Molinari and Chez Reavie, together with their caddies – additionally taking evasive motion.

“I just saw them here and I just told my caddie ‘bees, bees, bees,’ and he looks at me like I’m crazy,” Van Rooyen stated afterwards. “So, I dropped down, then he saw them, he dropped down. (Molinari) and (Reavie) look at me like I’m nuts and then they realized, like, 30 seconds later… the bees just went right at them. It’s funny, but you certainly don’t want to get stung by those bad boys.”

Recent winners

Jon Rahm arrived at the event as the favourite in 2022, headlining the occasion in its first yr as an official PGA Tour occasion after years of being held on the Korn Ferry and Latinoamerica tours. He nearly beat Kurt Kitayama at the present venue to say his seventh PGA Tour title.

The Spaniard, who would be part of LIV in late 2023, returned to retain his title earlier that yr however may solely handle a second-place end, behind Tony Finau. Finau gained with a 5-under 66 to win by three strokes over the then-world No.1.

The newest version of the Mexico Open noticed Californian rookie Knapp shoot an even-par 71 on Sunday to clinch his first PGA TOUR victory in simply his fifth begin as a member.