Rory McIlroy was standing in front of a 3-footer on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open. The Ulsterman needed to cup the ball for a possible playoff chance. The greens have been treacherous throughout the four rounds. Over the broadcast, on-course analyst Smylie Kaufman chimed in, “Not outside the hole. It’s a left-center putt, but you can make it if you start it right in the middle, too.”

McIlroy did just that after reading the putt for a few minutes. It broke on the right. He bogeyed. Bryson DeChambeau eventually walked away with the title. Kaufman’s reading gave the impression that McIlroy missed an easy one. 

A week later, Jon Rahm, from Nashville offered a contrasting opinion. The former U.S. Open champion watched from the comfort of his home while recovering from a foot injury. Kaufman’s ‘severely underplayed’ reading miffed the Legion XIII captain. 

“He said it was a left-center putt. If you hit that putt left center and miss the hole, you are off the green because of how much slope there is. You could see Rory aiming at least a cup left from three feet,” Rahm explained in the press conference. Kaufman agrees he misread the putt. But he has a point to make.

“Listen, I mean, I’m not perfect. I did my best to what I thought the read was. I probably would have changed — I wouldn’t have ever given anything definite,” Kaufman said in the Subpar podcast.  But he was short on time.  Without a green book, and only taking a quick peek from quite some yards away can not produce accurate results. Not when the world’s No. 2 got it wrong standing on the green.  

But Kaufman admitted he learned his lesson. “That’s a learning experience. Let me chalk that up in the category of somebody who’s not really been in that situation on 18. I just was in a good spot and felt like I had the read,”  the golf broadcaster added. 

The fact is Rahm too knew this. The Spaniard understood the tough task that analysts had on the course. That is why he clarified his stance after saying Kaufman severely underplayed it. However, that was lost in the conversation afterward. 

Jon Rahm sympathized with Rory McIlroy and Smylie Kaufman

Jon Rahm knew the on-course analysts didn’t have a ton of tools and an eternity of time to offer a read. Mistakes can be made, and it has happened before. The two-time major winner added in the presser, “I think that can happen a few times where unless you’ve been there on the golf course and you’re playing it or you’ve played it, it’s hard to truly explain how difficult the golf course can be. A lot of times they only have those five seconds to say something quickly, so I also don’t blame them. But besides that, I thought it was good.”

But social media was having none of it. Netizens blasted Kaufman, an extremely likable broadcasters cum podcast host, for being the worst of the lot. Subpar co-host and former PGA Tour pro Colt Knost lamented, “We do the same thing out there, and it’s just amazing that these people think like, we stalk it from both sides and spend two minutes reading it.” It’s not just Smylie Kaufman and the analysts, but perhaps the fans too should take this as a learning experience.