Patrick Reed, co-leader of the third round, kept himself busy with another rule issue during the Farmers Insurance Open on Saturday when he sought relief for an embedded ball – the television replay program first bounced – and then picked up the ball before ‘ a rule. official was able to show up.
Reed, the 2018 Masters Champion who had a fraudulent accusation after an incident at the 2019 Hero World Challenge, pulled his approach shot from a highway bunker in the left hand at the 10th hole at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
A ball embedded everywhere in the green except for sandy areas is entitled to a free drop, which Reed sought. But repetitions showed that the ball first jumped before falling into the field.
CBS analyst Nick Faldo has questioned how a ball can embed – or plug – once it bounces.
Due to heavy rain during the tournament, the round was played with preferred lies, or ‘light, clean and place.’ But that only applies to balls that are in the fairway.
To make matters worse, Reed picked up the ball – which should only have been allowed if his playmates, Robby Shelton and Will Gordon, had been consulted and allowed him to do so. It was unclear whether Reed asked them or whether they responded.
Reed could be heard telling the officer of the rule that his ball did not bounce, but he did not want to watch television replays. “I checked it and I believe it broke ground,” Reed told Brad Fabel, official of the Tour Rules. They said it was not bouncing. ”
Reed said in a post-round interview that a volunteer for the tournament told him the ball was not bouncing; and he explained that he had picked up and marked the ball because no one had seen the ball bounce, and he tried to determine if it was embedded. When Fabel checked the area, he determined that Reed might get relief.
This gave Reed the ability to clear the ball and drop it within a club length. He got the ball up and down for a par and equalized with Carlos Ortiz after shooting a third round 70.
Legal officer Ken Tackett explained during the CBS broadcast that since it was determined that the ball was embedded, it did not matter whether it bounced first. Faldo questioned it and CBS chief broadcaster Jim Nantz called it a ‘bad look’. ‘
Reed came under scrutiny during the Hero World Challenge in 2019 after it was determined that he ‘improved his lie’ in a waste region when he dragged his club back while taking a practice swing. He was later given a two-shot penalty and subsequently accepted the sentence but maintained that another camera angle would acquit him.
Reed teased significantly at the Presidential Cup the following week and his caddy and brother-in-law, Kessler Karain, even quarreled with a spectator, which led to the PGA Tour suspending him from last-day action.