U.S. Open: Sam Burns on the wrong end of a questionable ruling

Yahoo

6 hours ago

When Sam Burns stood over his tee shot on the 15th hole in the final round of the U.S. Open, he was in a tie for the lead. When he walked off the green, he was two shots back and essentially out of contention.
What transpired in between is a questionable ruling that very much led to the double bogey Burns carded on the hole.
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Just past the midway point of Sunday's final round, rain began pelting Oakmont Country Club. Play was halted for nearly two hours as Oakmont truly became Soakmont. Puddles formed, on greens and in fairways. Grounds crew tried to squeegee the course, but they could only do so much.
Burns' tee shot on 15 landed in a shallow swell on the left edge of the fairway, the kind of place where water goes to settle. As Burns took his practice swings, he could see water shooting up with every swipe of the grass. It was wet, so Burns called over a rules official to ask for relief from standing water.
Per Rule 16.1, free relief "is allowed from interference by animal holes, ground under repair, immovable obstructions or temporary water." Temporary water is defined as "any temporary accumulation of water on the surface of the ground (such as puddles from rain or irrigation or an overflow from a body of water) that is not in a penalty area, and can be seen before or after you take a stance (without pressing down excessively with your feet).
"It is not enough for the ground to be merely wet, muddy or soft or for the water to be momentarily visible as you step on the ground; an accumulation of water must remain present either before or after your stance is taken."
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Burns believed where his ball sat qualified as "temporary water." The rules official inspected the area and did not agree.
Sam Burns talks with a rules official on the 16th hole during the final round of the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. (Photo by)
(Andy Lyons via Getty Images)
Wanting a second opinion, Burns asked for another ruling. The appeal was denied. So Burns had to hit from where it lie, and this happened:
Was it wet where his ball was? You be the judge:
From there, things only got worse. His third shot stayed in the rough. One chip and two putts later, he was in with a double bogey. And that was the end of his run at a first major title.
"When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up. Took practice swings and it's just water splashing every single time," Burns explained after. "Called a rules official over, they disagreed. I looked at it again. I thought maybe I should get a second opinion. That rules official also disagreed. At the end of the day, it's not up to me, it's up to the rules official. That's kind of that."
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Credit Burns for not making a thing of it.
He'd bogey 16, birdie 17, then bogey 18 to finish +4, in a tie for seventh.
"Yeah, look, I went out there and gave it the best I had," he said. "Golf's a hard game, especially on this golf course. At the end of the day, I can hold my heed high."