A paid attempt at viral attention crossed the line, forcing the PGA Tour to take immediate action against controversial YouTuber Jack Doherty.

Doherty offered a spectator $100 to shout “j******” as Mackenzie Hughes prepared to play his second shot from a fairway bunker on the 18th hole on Friday at the WM Phoenix Open. The spectator accepted and shouted as Hughes began his backswing. 

Following the incident on Feb. 7, the PGA Tour released a statement addressing the situation, stating:

“Disruptive fan behavior will not be tolerated, and anyone violating the Fan Code of Conduct is subject to immediate ejection,” while adding that tournament security and local law enforcement acted promptly to handle the matter.

Silence is a well-known part of golf etiquette. When the smallest things can change the outcome, a heckler can turn the tide of the game entirely.

The YouTuber in question is known to make controversial content by eliciting a reaction from viewers. When he did so at the Phoenix Open, Hughes’s caddie, Julien Trudeau, alerted security, leading to the removal of both the spectator and Jack Doherty from the grounds.

Mackenzie Hughes also later addressed the incident, saying: “It happens at this tournament sometimes... Yeah, I saw the video. Honestly, I didn't lose much sleep over it. My caddie and the security staff were all pretty prompt to kick whoever it was out.”

Thankfully, Hughes was not in the process of hitting a shot when the disruption occurred, as he was making a rehearsal swing and stepped away after the shout. 

“I feel like I wasn't really much of the story. I just happened to be the guy that was there... I'm not really much of a social media guy, so I had no idea who it was.”

What Jack Doherty's Ban Looks Like

In his video, Doherty spoke with a PGA Tour official who outlined the punishment.

"If you come back here before the tournament is over, you will be arrested, and you will go through that whole process." But the punishment won't just be for the Phoenix Open.

"If you show up to a PGA Tour tournament again, you will be arrested... for the foreseeable future until we can work this out."

At the same time, Jack Doherty called the prank 'harmless', which invited a different response from the golf community.

His comments prompted a response from Michael Kim, who wrote, “Hey Jack, just have a little bit of respect for guys trying to do their jobs. You’re the one that sounds soft for talking like a crybaby after getting kicked out of a golf tournament.”

You can read more at Club Golf!

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar