Latest news with #doublebogey
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
U.S. Open: Sam Burns on the wrong end of a questionable ruling
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. Advertisement 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." Advertisement 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." Advertisement 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."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
U.S. Open: Sam Burns on the wrong end of a questionable ruling
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) 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. Advertisement 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. He wasn't given it. 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. Advertisement "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." 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."
National Post
15-05-2025
- Climate
- National Post
Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele put PGA Championship on blast over mud balls
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It's not every day the world's three best players all make double bogeys on the same hole. Article content Article content That's exactly what happened to the marquee group of Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship on Thursday at Quail Hollow — and the golf superstars were not very happy about how it happened. Article content 'I hit in the middle of the fairway, you've got mud on your ball, and it's tough to control where it goes after that,' World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler said after shooting a two-under par 69. 'I kept the honour with making a double on a hole and I think that will probably be the first and last time I do that in my career.' Article content There are very few things that get under the skin of pro golfers like mud balls. With early week torrential downpours mixing with Thursday's opening-round sunshine in Charlotte, the recipe was perfect for golf balls to pick up mud in the fairways as the course dried out. Article content 'It is what it is and a lot of guys are dealing with it,' Xander Schauffele said after shooting a one-over 72. 'But it's just unfortunate to be hitting good shots and to pay them off that way. It's kind of stupid.' Article content Article content Not every player left the course complaining. European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald shot a surprising four-under 67 and said he avoided the worst of it. Article content 'I didn't have any mud balls, per se,' Donald said. 'It was just sort of a watery, muddy residue on it, at times. It wasn't really lumps of mud, which that's when it gets very dicey.' Article content Jon Rahm said much the same after his 1-under 70, saying some specks of mud were the worst he had to deal with. Article content Thick mud on a golf ball can add an impossible variable to golf shots as the unbalanced ball spins wildly and uncontrollably once in the air. Article content 'We were in the middle of the fairway and, I don't know, we had to aim right of the grandstands probably,' Shauffele said. 'I'm not sure. I aimed right of the bunker and it whipped in the water and Scottie whipped it in the water, as well.' Article content In these conditions, the players would always prefer if tournament organizer implemented preferred lies, where they are allowed to lift, clean and place their golf ball and avoid these situations. Article content Article content But this is a major championship. Not only that, this is a major championship already facing some criticism that this year's edition is simply a glorified PGA Tour event, considering it's being played at a course the tour stops at every year with very few changes made for the PGA Championship. Article content 'I don't make the rules,' Scheffler said. '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 shots, get to me. I did a good job battling after that and posting a decent score.' Article content Rory McIlroy avoided a mud ball on the hole by missing the fairway, but slipped in the damp rough while attempting to hit his recovery shot and looked down at his shoe spikes afterward. The Masters champ shot a disappointing three-over 74.
