PGA Tour stud Paul Casey nearly had one less trophy on his mantle this week ... and it's all 'cause he struck a bug with his golf ball on a routine putt!!
Here's the deal ... Casey was playing in the European Tour's Porsche European Open in Germany last week -- when he lined up for a short putt on one of the holes.
Casey pulled back his club, struck the golf ball ... and he sank the shot no problem!
BUT ... turns out, there was a small issue -- video replay showed Casey's ball had struck a tiny bug on its way to the hole.
One of the weirder golfing rules... 🐛@Paul_Casey #PEO2019 pic.twitter.com/v0gmmDNJk8
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 6, 2019
And -- as every no golfer knows -- hitting a bug on the green is giant no-no ... and could have resulted in a huge penalty!!!
Per golf rules, when a ball hits a person, animal (including bugs!) or movable obstruction on the green, the stroke is NOT supposed to count.
But, since Casey did not KNOWINGLY hit the little critter ... tournament officials let it slide -- and the 42-year-old ended up winning the event by two strokes.
As for the bug, we're pretty sure it survived the brutal assault.
PHEW!!!!