Jansa Gets Welt from Bradley Ball at US Open

A Sioux Falls man who has been around golf a long time, got closer to the action than he expected during the recent U.S. Open Championship.

Tom Jansa is a PGA professional and is the President of Dakota Golf Management which oversees the public courses in Sioux Falls. The U.S. Open was contested not too far away in Wisconsin at Erin Hills.

The game of golf especially at that level is determined by every part of the swing working properly to put the ball in the fairway. Jansa was just watching, then unwittingly a victim of a wayward drive.

“As much as I’ve been around golf, I haven’t been hit very often. Caddying for my daughter, Claire (in a tournament), I got hit on the shin pretty hard. Then spectating with Claire, I got nailed by Keegan Bradley’s tee shot on hole number seven right on my upper right arm. It was more startling than anything. In all honesty, I was hoping it would look a little uglier than it does.”

A mark is not the only thing Jansa received in the exchange. Bradley may have been too focused on his play to realize what had happened, but the caddie came to the rescue.

“I’m not sure he knew it had happened, but it’s normally protocol to give someone who (gets struck) a little something for the effort. Then I felt kind of bad about it afterwards because he just shot a 77. He saw me and I think he was waiting for his caddie to give me something and eventually he tossed me a ball.”

On the hole Jansa was struck Bradley fought back for bogey after misfiring off the tee. Bradley finished tied for sixtieth place at nine over par for the tournament.

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