PGA Tour finds no violations of matched incidents for Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy

by

The game rules problem that Patrick Reed faced during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open is one that Rory McIlroy also faced – with no rules officer and virtually no fanfare.

Reed got to take a drop from what he believed was an embedded lie on Saturday’s 10th hole, leading to significant guesses as to whether it was justified.

He had picked up his ball in the rough, thought he was entitled to relief, then called in rules official Brad Fabel, who agreed after a brief test off the ground and gave Reed the free fall. He went on to parry the hole and started the fourth round right before the lead at Torrey Pines with Carlos Ortiz.

Reruns showed Reed’s ball bouncing back, which he later admitted would not lock in, but no one knew at the time.

Also on Saturday, McIlroy’s second shot on the par-5 18th hole came to rest in the right rough and he believed his ball was clogged. McIlroy could be heard speaking to another player in the group, Rory Sabbatini, who signed on to McIlroy’s request for a drop without inspection of the lie. No government official was called.

According to the PGA Tour, both issues were handled correctly.

“It was reasonable for both players to conclude – based on the fact that they did not see the ball land, but given the ball’s placement in soft court conditions – that they proceed as the rule allows for a possible trapped ball,” said the Tour. in a statement. ”They marked, lifted and assessed the situation to determine if the ball was embedded.

Patrick went a step further and called in a rules officer to make sure his assessment would not be questioned (although this step is not required). Both players took appropriate action under Rule 16/3. The committee is familiar with how both players proceeded given that they were using the evidence they had at the time. ”

Reed was under scrutiny for his action. The CBS broadcast team, including six-time Grand Champion Nick Faldo, wondered how a ball could be embedded after bouncing. Reed, who has had rule-related issues in the past, including during the 2019 Hero World Challenge, then received several media inquiries about it, saying he believed he handled the matter properly, given what he knew.

Later, Reed pushed back against opponents on Twitter, noting that the same thing occurred to McIlroy without any backlash.

“Rory McIlroy did the same today at Hole 18!” Reed tweeted. And I haven’t even called a rules officer to consider the ball embedded. End of story.’

.Source