Golf galleries are used to dodging wayward shots, but one spectator at the 2026 Cadillac Championship found out the hard way that standing too close to the fairway can be hurtful. During Saturday’s third round at Trump National Doral, PGA Tour’s Nick Taylor’s drive hit a fan. The contact was brutal enough to leave a visible mark, and the video of the incident circulated quickly.
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Taylor’s drive in Round 3 on the sixth hole strayed off course and struck a spectator directly on the elbow. The fan required attention at the spot. The video confirmed the ball made full contact. What made the moment land harder was the context.
Taylor was not having a throwaway round. Through five holes of Round 3, he was -2 for the day with birdies on holes 3 and 5. He was one of the sharper players on the course before the incident happened. Notably, this was also not the first time this week that Taylor’s round had an uncomfortable subplot.
This fan at Doral took a Nick Taylor drive to the arm, but he seems to be in good spirits 😅🤙
During Round 2, Nick Taylor needed an on-course physiotherapy session after suffering from back issues mid-round. It didn’t help him entirely, though, but the moment caught a lot of attention. Despite playing through back trouble, Taylor shot a 2-under 70 in Round 2, finishing at 8 under par through 36 holes.
Taylor’s round 1 told a different story. The 5x PGA Tour winner carded a 66, going 6 under on the back nine alone with three consecutive birdies on 15, 16, and 17 to close. That kind of back-nine scoring on the Blue Monster course, which stretches to 7,400 yards and demands precision off the tee, showed what Taylor is capable of when his ball-striking is on.
And Nick Taylor is far from the only one to have put a fan in harm’s way.
Getting hit by a Golf ball is becoming a recurring problem at the PGA Tour events
Travis Kelce hit a woman named Edenne Flinn in the head with his drive on the 18th hole of the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It wasn’t a one-off thing. That was at least the fourth time in the last two years alone that Kelce had hit a fan.
Even world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler couldn’t escape this trend. His tee shot at the 16th hole at The American Express in January 2026 hit a fan square in the head. And when the best player in the world is hitting balls into the gallery, no spot feels completely secure.
Jon Rahm added himself to the list of golfers who have hit the fans at the 2025 PGA Championship. His approach shot at the 11th hole at Quail Hollow hit a fan in the head, the ball bouncing across the green. Quietly, Rahm then handed over a signed glove that has become the standard post-incident gesture on Tour.
Something similar happened to Rory McIlroy as far back as 2019 at the Memorial Tournament, when his 316-yard drive hit a spectator square in the face and left a deep gash under his lip. This is a risk that has always been present in the sport, but the rate is definitely increasing.
