JR Smith Stepped on Bee Hive at Phoenix Invitational, Received Medical Attention

Former NBA guard JR Smith received medical attention Tuesday after stepping on a bee hive while playing in Elon's Phoenix Invitational, his first college golf tournament for North Carolina A&T.

Jared Bunder of Elon Sports Vision provided video from the scene:

Smith eventually resumed play but recorded a double bogey on the par-five 12th after the incident.

The 36-year-old two-time NBA champion walked on to the North Carolina A&T golf team for the 2021-22 season after receiving NCAA clearance in August.

He shot a combined 19-over par across two rounds played Monday. Despite playing on basketball's biggest stages, he admitted to feeling some butterflies before teeing off.

"I was nervous, I was," Smith told reporters. "I didn't really know what to expect."

Aggies head coach Richard Watkins explained the high-profile freshman will benefit from learning the difference between how to attack a course in a tournament compared to a casual round.

"I was pretty pleased with him," Watkins said. "He made some mistakes, did some things you will do if you're not used to competing. Just going out and playing recreational golf with your buddies is a whole lot different than competition.”

The two-day event wraps up Tuesday.

In August, Smith told East L. Dockery of The Undefeated he's planning to stick with golf for the entire time he's at the school and hopes to eventually become a serious contender.

"By time my senior year, I want to be All-American," Smith said. "I want to be one of those guys who, you know, people look up to, as a headliner for tournaments when people come to play. One of my biggest goals is to continuously try to recruit and help get people here who have the talent and capabilities to actually, you know, keep going."

N.C. A&T's next tournament comes Oct. 23-24 hosted by UNC Greensboro.