Wyndham Clark runs off the Green during the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week.
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Wyndham Clark had just signed for a One-Under 71 in the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational last Friday, but he was surprised when a rules officer met him in the score area, and warned him that the media could ask about what happened on the Par-4 3rd Hole.
“I had something like that At 3?“Said Clark. “I hit it in the middle of the fairway, hit the green and two putt. I am like, What are you talking about? He goes: “It’s your drop.” ‘
Clark immediately received good news: he did nothing wrong and there would be no punishment, although it was a short controversy brewed on the broadcast.
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Clark hit his tee shot on the 3rd hole on Bay Hill, and cameras showed it bouncing in the Fairway and came to rest near the landing area. When the broadcast returned, Clark had marked his ball in the Fairway and prepared to take a drop. That drop would be legal if free relief if his ball came to rest in his own pitch, but if it landed in another and he would take relief, he would be punished.
Then it became confusing. Rich Pierson, Director of Rules and Video of the PGA Tour, jumped on the broadcast to say: “Wyndham’s ball did not enclose. His ball bounced and he rolled into someone else’s pitch. “
If that were true, a fine was inevitable. But six holes later Pierson returned to the broadcast and knew Clark.
“With the help of television and our Shotlink cameras, we were able to determine that it ended up in its original Poolcarm,” said Pierson. “That is why there would be no fine.”
When asked about this at the players’ championship on Wednesday, Clark had thoughts: “I have a few comments about this rule in general,” he said.
“They showed me the video, and then it leads me to think, well, how should we know? We were 300 meters away, “said Clark. “We have not seen the ball bouncing from our distance and we get above it and this is connected. How should I know? Nobody told us. So my frustration was that if I was stroked, how was that my fault when nobody told me that I was rolling something in when I rolled in the pitch of someone else. That is one of those rules in Golf where it is, why do we make this so complicated. I can’t see that, and if the volunteers don’t tell me and I am stroked for something that I didn’t know it happened, it seems a bit unfair.
“But I am glad it was correct because I was not trying to cheat in any way. We just walked upstairs, Ball was connected, took an embedded ball line. “
Clark even finished par at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, good for a draw for 22nd.
Clark starts his first round of the players at 8:46 am et on Thursday, on the 10th Tee. He is grouped with Jason Day and Jordan Spieth. You can find complete round 1 T -shirts here.
