Tom Kim, Brian Campbell Hit Wrong Balls In Bizarre Mexico Open Blunder

Even PGA Tour professionals occasionally forget one of golf's most basic responsibilities: make sure you're hitting your own ball.

Tom Kim and defending champion Brian Campbell provided an extraordinary reminder Friday when both players struck the wrong golf ball from the same bunker during the second round of the 2026 VidantaWorld Mexico Open.

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The unusual mistake unfolded on the par-5 18th hole at Vidanta Vallarta, where the two playing partners found themselves in the same greenside bunker.

What should've been a relatively routine finish turned into a costly rules violation for both competitors.

Under Rule 6.3c of the Rules of Golf, hitting another player's ball in stroke play carries a two-stroke penalty. The offending player must also correct the mistake by returning to the proper ball.

The rule is straightforward: "A player must not make a stroke at a wrong ball."

Neither golfer escaped the consequences.

Kim and Campbell each recorded a double-bogey 6 on the closing hole, finishing with matching 3-under-par rounds of 68.

Both reached the halfway point at 7-under 135, tied for 21st place. Fortunately, the penalties didn't threaten their weekend participation, with both players comfortably inside the cut line.

For Campbell, the mistake added to a frustrating finish.

The defending champion had already made a bogey 6 on the par-5 17th before the bunker mix-up derailed his final hole.

Campbell returned to Mexico hoping to rediscover the form that produced his breakthrough PGA Tour victory at the event in 2025.

That triumph came in dramatic fashion when he defeated Aldrich Potgieter in a playoff, securing his first PGA Tour title.

However, Campbell's 2026 campaign has been considerably more difficult. He hadn't competed since the Wyndham Championship in August, where he missed the cut.

Kim arrived with a different kind of momentum.

The South Korean recently captured a gold medal at the Asian Games, earning an exemption from his country's mandatory military service requirements.

The Mexico Open represents his first tournament appearance since that significant career achievement.

Despite Friday's mishap, both players remain positioned to make a move over the final two rounds.

The incident also illustrates why professional golfers take such care identifying their equipment, particularly when multiple balls finish close together.

A small oversight can change a scorecard in seconds.

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For Kim and Campbell, the damage was limited to two strokes apiece and an embarrassing conclusion to an otherwise productive afternoon.

They'll undoubtedly be checking their golf balls a little more carefully this weekend.