Third-round co-leader Patrick Reed was on Saturday dealing with another rules issue at Open Farmers Insurance when he sought relief for an embedded ball (which the TV replay program had bounced first) and then picked up the ball before the official rules could arrive.
Reed, the 2018 Masters champion who had allegations of deception, chased him after an incident at the 2019 Hero World Challenge, had fired the approach shot from a fairway bunker toward the left at hole number 10 at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
A ball embedded anywhere in the green, except sandy areas, is entitled to a free fall, which is what Reed was looking for. But the replays showed the ball had bounced off before getting dirty.
CBS analyst Nick Faldo questioned how a ball could be embedded (or taken away) if it had bounced first.
Due to heavy rain at the tournament, the round was played with favorite lies, or “lift, clean and place.” But this only applies to the balls that are on the street.
To make matters worse, Reed grabbed the ball, which should only have been allowed if his teammates, Robby Shelton and Will Gordon, had been consulted and allowed him to do so. It wasn’t clear if Reed asked them or if they answered, but Reed said after his round that he did.
Reed could be heard telling the official rules that his ball had not bounced, but he refused to watch the replays. “I checked it out and I think the ground started,” Reed told Tour official head of rules Brad Fabel. “Ever since I picked it up to check, it looked like the ground started. They said it didn’t bounce.”
Reed said in a post-round interview that a tournament volunteer told him the ball was not bouncing; and explained that he grabbed the ball and scored it so no one could see it bouncing and trying to determine if it had been embedded. When Fabel checked the area, he determined that Reed was allowed relief.
This gave Reed a chance to clear the ball and drop it within the length of the club. He got the ball up and down by a pair and is tied at the head with Carlos Ortiz after throwing a 70 in the third round.
“When you have three players, three caddies and a volunteer who is very close to the golf ball doesn’t see the ball bounce, you have to follow what everyone sees and what everyone saw,” Reed said after the round. “And when no one was seeing it, the person in charge of the rules basically has to say whether it’s free relief or not, and the person in charge of the rules agreed that the ball broke the plane and it was a relief.
“Obviously, it’s an unfortunate situation, but at the end of the day, when you finish the round and the head of the official functions comes to you, he has the video and shows everything that has happened to the whole group and says you have already done it. perfectly, you did it exactly the right way, the protocols you did were detected; at the moment, I feel really good. “
Rules manager Ken Tackett explained during the CBS broadcast that since it was determined the ball had embedded, it didn’t matter if it had bounced first. Faldo questioned it, and CBS main broadcaster Jim Nantz called it “wrong.”
Reed said he is “definitely” scrutinized more than other players in such situations due to past events.
“It’s unfortunate that it happens today, but at the same time, it’s exactly what I would have done every time,” Reed said. “… When you have the official rules and everyone can and you say you did it as a textbook and you did it exactly as you are supposed to do it, then that’s all you can do.
“I mean, when we’re out and we’re playing, we can’t see everything. So trust the other players, the other opponents, trust the volunteers and also the rules officers. And when everyone says what we’ve done “That’s right, then go on and on. The best thing is that I still have a chance to win a golf tournament. So now go out tomorrow and leave your foot and try to make as many birds as possible.”
At the 2019 Hero World Challenge, Reed was subjected to immense scrutiny after it was determined he had “improved his lie” in a trash zone when he dragged his club backwards while doing training swings. he accepted the penalty, but kept a different camera angle would have exonerated him.
Reed endured considerable ridicule the following week in the Presidents Cup and his caddy and brother-in-law, Kessler Karain, even got into an altercation with a spectator, leading to the PGA Tour suspending him from action. of the last day.