Scottie Scheffler hits out at ‘unfair' US PGA decision on mud balls

Telegraph

15-05-2025

The world's best players have hit out at the US PGA organisers at Quail Hollow with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler calling the decision not to allow preferred lies as 'unfair'.
Despite torrential rain disrupting practice rounds earlier in the week, the PGA of America – which oversees the season's second major' – opted against allowing the pros to 'lift, clean and place' balls in the saturated fairways here.
That meant that 'mud balls' were inevitable and both Scheffler and Xander Schauffele both double-bogeyed the 16th after watching in despair and anger as their second shots from the fairway veered left of green and into the water.
'It's one of those deals where it's frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it and have no idea where it's going to go,' Scheffler said after a 69. 'But I don't make the rules. I just have to deal with the consequences of those rules. I did a good job of battling back today and not letting a bad break like that, which cost me a couple of shots, get to me.
'I understand how a golf purist would be, 'oh, play it as it lies'. But I don't think they understand what it's like literally working your entire life to learn how to hit a golf ball and control it and hit shots and control distance, and all of a sudden due to a rules decision that is completely taken away from us by chance.
'In golf, there's enough luck throughout a 72-hole tournament that I don't think the story should be whether or not the ball is played up or down. When I look at golf tournaments I want the purest, fairest test of golf, and in my opinion maybe the ball today should have been played up.'
Schauffele concurred 'We were in the middle of the fairway, and I don't know, we had to aim right of the grandstands,' he said. 'It's just unfortunate to be hitting good shots and to pay them off that way. It's kind of stupid.'
The world No 3 had a warning for the officials and all but pleaded for them to change their minds. 'The mud balls are going to get worse as the place dries up,' he said. 'They're going to get in that perfect cake zone to where it's kind of muddy underneath and then picking up mud on the way through. It's a bit of a crapshoot.'
Unlike the Tours – which would undoubtedly have invoked the 'clean and place' rule – the majors are loathe to assuage the competitors. 'You know why,' Matt Fitzpatrick said after his 68. 'Because they don't like the look of it.'
At last month's Masters, Jordan Spieth railed the attitude of the traditionalists. 'My iron play killed me the last two days, and to be brutally honest with you, it was primarily mud balls,' he said. 'The fact that you're not supposed to talk about it is a bit frustrating because it is a difference maker.'