Yips & Shanks: November 2026

1. Nice Shot. Now Give It Back.

Tom Kim and Brian Campbell found the same greenside bunker on their final hole at the Mexico Open, then each played a respectable escape with the other fellow’s ball. Golf already provides enough opportunities to ruin your own score. These two briefly outsourced the job.

Both received two-stroke penalties and finished the hole with double-bogey sixes. They still made the cut, which is something. Next time your playing partner asks what you’re hitting, consider answering before he hits it. Source ↗

2. The Tree Is Now Playing Three

Sahith Theegala’s drive lodged in a tree during the Baycurrent Classic at Yokohama Country Club. His caddie tried dislodging it with an umbrella, which promptly joined the ball in the branches. A difficult lie had become a small outdoor storage problem.

The ball was eventually identified, allowing Theegala to take an unplayable-ball penalty and continue. He made bogey on the par-four 11th, a fairly tidy result for a hole involving two caddies and airborne rain equipment. Forget another wedge. Apparently, the bag needs a ladder. Source ↗

3. Hyo Joo Kim Makes Some Change

During the second round of the LOTTE Championship, Hyo Joo Kim chipped onto the green and hit her playing partner’s ball marker. The coin jumped and rolled roughly ten feet, while Kim’s ball finished a few feet from the flag. That is an impressive amount of activity for a short-game shot.

Kim dropped to her knees laughing. The marker could be replaced without a penalty, leaving everybody free to appreciate a chip that moved both the ball and the money. Most of us would happily settle for hitting the green. Kim found the smallest available target. Source ↗

4. Team USA, Fresh Off the Rack

Lauren Coughlin arrived at the Solheim Cup with a clothing tag still attached to her sweater. Her captain spotted it and pulled it off, taking care of a wardrobe detail that had survived all the way to international competition. Even the best-prepared teams occasionally need somebody to check the laundry instructions.

There are plenty of things to remember when representing your country. Removing the merchandise label can evidently slip down the list. Credit the captain with a useful save before Coughlin had to explain whether she planned to return the sweater after the match. Source ↗

5. Two Strokes for the Footwork

Shaun Norris was tied for the lead during the final round of the Nexo Championship when he kicked away a replaced divot before an approach shot. That small piece of housekeeping proved expensive: moving the turf improved the conditions for his stroke and brought a two-shot penalty.

His four on the fifth became a six, and he eventually finished tied for seventh. There is a lesson here for anyone tempted to tidy up around the ball. Replace your divots, admire the workmanship and resist the urge to redecorate. Source ↗

6. Catch of the Day: One Golf Ball

Charl Schwartzel’s tee shot rolled off the seventh green and into the pond at LIV Golf Bedminster. Then a fish appeared to swallow the ball. Losing one in the water is familiar enough. Watching something order it for lunch adds a personal touch.

Schwartzel took a one-stroke penalty and made bogey. The fish’s score was unavailable. Somewhere between reading the green and choosing a club, golf had quietly become a fishing trip, with Schwartzel supplying the bait. Source ↗

7. A Shank With Surround Sound

Chris Kirk’s approach on the 13th at the Rocket Classic shot sharply right into thick grass. A broadcast microphone caught an astonished, unprintable reaction from the background, presumed to be a spectator. Kirk had supplied the shot; somebody else supplied the review.

A search party found the ball, but Kirk needed unplayable-ball relief and eventually made double bogey. He began the hole one stroke off the lead and left it three behind. The comforting part for the rest of us? Even a tour winner can produce a shot that requires witnesses to check what they just saw. Source ↗

8. Two Over Before Breakfast

Garrick Higgo arrived late for his first-round tee time at the PGA Championship and received a two-stroke penalty. He was scheduled for 7:18 a.m.; the broadcast showed him approaching the tee at 7:19. At Aronimink, apparently, “just coming” was not an accepted starting time.

Higgo made double bogey on the first, then played the rest of the round three under to shoot 69. Excellent golf, once he got there. There cannot be many equipment upgrades promising an immediate two-shot improvement, but an alarm clock had a strong case that morning. Source ↗

9. This Bunker Comes With a Spare

Michael Feagles tried escaping a bunker at the LECOM Suncoast Classic and watched his ball reach the fairway. Then another ball dropped into the sand from the lip. One swing, two balls and an entirely reasonable question about whether the bunker was haunted.

The extra ball apparently had been buried in the lip and was dislodged during the shot. Feagles admitted the episode spooked him and made bogey on the hole. Finding a free ball usually improves a golfer’s mood. Timing, it turns out, matters. Source ↗

10. The Longest Inch in Golf

Sebastián Muñoz left a birdie putt hanging at the cup during LIV Golf Hong Kong, then missed the ball while attempting the tiny tap-in. His putter appeared to bounce off the turf and pass over it. The ball remained where it was, presumably waiting for the next appointment.

Muñoz counted the attempted stroke, holed the next one and told the scorer he had made bogey. He still shot 65, which offers some perspective. So does the distance: about an inch. Next time somebody says a putt is impossible to miss, kindly ask them to stop talking. Source ↗