Condoleezza Rice, the former United States Secretary of State, hit a fan with an errant shot while playing at the Pebble Beach Pro-am tournament on Thursday, adding some drama to the usually jovial event.
According to the Associated Press, Rice was lined up on the sixth hole taking a blind approach shot and hit the ball wide towards the left side of the gallery. The ball was nowhere near the green and the ball ended up hitting a spectator in the head.
The ball struck the forehead of a woman in the gallery, causing a gash that sent her to the ground bleeding. Medical personnel worked on her as she wept in pain. The report said that Rice apologized to the woman and had an assistant get her phone number.
According to the Associated Press, when Rice finished her round the woman who was struck spoke to the Associated Press and said she was treated for a bruise and given pain medication and no stitches were needed.
"We didn't talk about it. We tried not to," said Rice's caddie, Kathryn Imrie, the assistant women's golf coach at Stanford, where Rice teaches and often mentors and helps recruit student-athletes. "Obviously, she was really concerned. And for it not to bother her probably would be tough."
Rice was paired with golfer Jason Bohnand had a rough day on top of the accidental shot. She started off with some solid play on the early holes, but started to fall apart after smacking the woman with the shot.
Rice hit an excellent chip on the first drive close to the hole and looked strong with her driver, but after hitting a 30-foot birdie, she hit the errant shot and the round got away from her. She combined with Bohn for a 2-under 70 in the pro-am portion of the tournament.
"Somebody asked me, 'How did it compare to diplomacy?'" Rice said while walking off the 18th green. "And I said, 'Well, I know how to do diplomacy, I'm not so sure about the golf course.'"
Davis Love III was originally paired with Rice, but he was forced to pull out with a neck injury. Bohn was approached by the PGA Tour and was happy to be Rice's partner.
"My next-door neighbors were all involved. And I was like, 'Woah, woah, woah. I can't give you some of the questions,'" he recalled. "I said, "I've got to see how it goes. I've got to see how deep we can go into it.'"
Rice is an avid golfer and sports fan and she is known for her love of football and knowledge of the NFL. Last August Rice became one of the first two women to be admitted to Augusta National. Along with South Carolina financier Darla Moore, Rice is the first female member admitted since the club was founded in 1932.
Rice was wearing a sweater with the logo of Stanford University, where she teaches and was a provost for the school.
"I'm just trying to play golf, just trying to play golf," Rice said. "They're great places. I'm honored to be a member of all of 'em."
