A Hole-in-One Without Fans Is So Bizarre

In Friday’s Hot Clicks: Sung Kang sinks an incredibly quiet ace, a boxer gets disqualified for repeatedly punching his opponent in the crotch and more.

The ups and downs of golf without fans 

The PGA Tour is back in action this week in Texas with the Charles Schwab Challenge. It’s the first major non-combat sport to resume in the U.S. and it’s giving us a look at what sports will be like in the near future. 

The lack of fans on the course means no one is obnoxiously yelling “get in the hole!” on every shot, but it also means that the usually quiet sport of golf is somehow even quieter. CBS is filling some of the silence by putting microphones on players, which led to this fantastic moment with Jon Rahm. 

Jim Nantz was back on the air for all of two minutes before he had to apologize for an f-bomb, I missed sports so much pic.twitter.com/Rk7aRuAvaX

— Jay Rigdon (@jayrigdon5) June 11, 2020

While increased access to the players can be a partial replacement for the usual ambiance, there are still moments where the fans are sorely missed. Just look at what happened when Sung Kang made a hole-in-one on the 162-yard 13th. 

First day back and we have an ACE‼️

Sung Kang with a one hop and in. Watch the @CSChallengeFW now on TV and streaming. pic.twitter.com/scvJoC2LVc

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 11, 2020

Normally you’d expect an eruption from the fans gathered around the green that could be heard by players and fans all over the course. Instead you get the announcer saying in a semi-excited tone, “It’s a one for Kang!” and then transitioning without skipping a beat into his fun fact about how Kang “played a lot of golf here with Danny Lee.”

The subdued reaction from the players is also noteworthy. You can hear one person yell when the ball drops but it doesn’t look like there was much of a celebration on the tee box. It could just be because Kang and his playing partners Brendon Todd and Tyler Duncan aren’t too friendly, or maybe it’s that they have no crowd to feed off of and pump them up. Either way, expect to see a lot more scenes like that until people are allowed to gather en masse again. 

You can’t do that

Boxing is back in Las Vegas after a long layoff and at least one fighter looks like he might have forgotten the rules while he was away.

Dominican featherweight Yenifel Vicente was disqualified from his fight against Vegas native Jessie Magdaleno in the 10th round after hitting Magdaleno in the crotch not once, not twice, but three times. 

The ref DQs Yenifel Vicente after two more hits below the belt. #MagdalenoVicente pic.twitter.com/ybCxyi8scl

— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) June 12, 2020

The best of SI

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Around the sports world

A majority of Americans now support NFL players’ right to protest. ... A feature-length documentary about Magic Johnson is in the works. ... The NBA may lock media members in its Orlando bubble for the entirety of its Disney stay. ... A women’s basketball player at Liberty is transferring due to “racial insensitivity” from the school’s leadership. ... A biopic is in the works about Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. ... Alex Cora spoke out about the Astros’ sign-stealing controversy, pushing back on the idea that he was the mastermind.

Nikola Jokic was the only person in the world who said they’d lose weight in quarantine and actually did it

Lajt varijanta Jokica pic.twitter.com/ZCnbCqxPsu

— Bojan Brezovac (@Breza89) June 11, 2020

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A post shared by MONDO Sport (@mondorssport)

NBA 2K looks crazy on the PS5

Indians lefthanded pitcher Logan Allen isn’t pleased the Indians drafted lefthanded pitcher Logan Allen

New guy is gonna need a new name...or start dealing right handed. Your move Allen Logan

— Logan Allen (@Logan__Allen) June 11, 2020

He’s got quite the collection

Only a professional athlete has confidence like this

There’s nothing quite like the pressure of skulling a flop shot into your living room. @henrikstenson where you at?! pic.twitter.com/qvMkYaa8wY

— Alex Killorn (@Akillorn19) June 11, 2020

Ray Allen is feeling that pain

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A post shared by Ray Allen (@trayfour)

Notice anything off here?

Mascots are on another level in Asia

Not sports

The country band Lady Antebellum changed its name due to Civil War connotations. ... Scientists have discovered a prehistoric species of alligator that ran like an ostrich.

It’s like he was afraid of cutting his nose with his razor

Well they’ll definitely listen to him now

in a Q&A with employees, Mark Zuckerberg is expressing frustration about past leaks from company Q&As.

— rat king 🐀 (@MikeIsaac) June 11, 2020

A closer look at the new PS5

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.