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Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm Overcame Early Stick-Related Drama at Ryder Cup

Stephen Douglas

John Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton inspect a stick during the Ryder Cup.
John Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton inspect a stick during the Ryder Cup. / Peacock / @KylePorterNS

Byrson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas jumped out to a 1-up lead over Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm on the first hole in the first featured match of the tournament. It remained that way until a wild seventh hole that saw Rahm hit his drive into the trees and settle right next to a medium size stick.

Hatton and Rahm spent quite a bit of time inspecting the situation while trying to decide whether they could move the stick that sat between Hatton's next shot and the green. At one point Hatton stepped on another stick that moved the primary stick, but the ball didn't appear to move.

At least one amateur rules official online thought they found proof that the double-stick tap had moved the ball.

That stick may have swung the match. Hatton hit a tremendous shot onto the green while Justin Thomas put Team USA's second shot into the sand from the fairway. Hatton and Rahm went on to win the hole and square the match.

The good news is that the stick did not inspire any "parody" Twitter accounts. Not so long ago a moment like this would have resulted in things like @RyderCupStick and @BethpageStick.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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