Rahm and McIlroy shocked by intruder
WORLD No 1 Jon Rahm admitted he feared for his safety after a spectator wandered on to the tenth tee at the Scottish Open and started taking practice swings with a club lifted from Rory McIlroy’s bag. The man lifted a doghead cover from one of McIlroy’s clubs before taking a six iron out of the Northern Irishman’s bag. US Open champion Rahm and playing partner McIlroy were visibly stunned by the bizarre incident, which ended when security staff removed the intruder from the scene. Police Scotland later confirmed they had escorted a 35-year-old man off the premises of the Renaissance Club,
just outside Gullane, and had taken him to a hospital in Edinburgh. Rahm, who claimed he could smell alcohol on the man’s breath, revealed his concern over how the incident might have played out. ‘Me and Rory didn’t say anything,’ said the Spaniard. ‘He was holding a six iron and I didn’t want to get hurt. ‘I don’t think any of us understood what was going on. ‘He came in so confident and we thought he was going to take a picture or something. We thought he was maybe part of the camera crew or a photographer. ‘After a little bit, when he walked back and they were taking him out you could smell the reason why it happened.’ Security staff were alerted by Rahm’s caddie, Adam Hayes. The club was returned to McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond, by the intruder as he was led away. McIlroy, who shot a level-par 71 on a day of benign scoring conditions, ducked post-round media duties to avoid talking about the incident, which was captured on video and circulated on social media almost immediately. But, earlier, he said: ‘I was surprised. Everyone saw what happened on TV. It was handled efficiently and everything was okay. I had no idea who it was.’ A spokesperson for the European Tour said: ‘At approximately 8am on Friday morning, a spectator entered the tenth tee area. ‘He was quickly escorted from the tee by security personnel and the matter is now in the hands of Police Scotland.’ A Police Scotland spokesperson added: ‘Officers were alerted to a man causing a disturbance within the grounds of the Renaissance Club in East Lothian, around 8am on Friday, July 9. The 35-year-old man has been taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and enquiries are ongoing.’ It is the first time that fans have been allowed in to watch a British golf event since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with around 4,000 permitted entry per day.