Golf has produced plenty of unusual moments over the years, but Charl Schwartzel encountered a particularly bizarre one during the final round of LIV Golf New York at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey.
Schwartzel ends tournament two-over
Television cameras captured a fish surfacing and grabbing Schwartzel’s golf ball from beneath the water. The fish then swam away, leaving bubbles and a commotion around the spot where the ball had landed.
“I have never seen that,” one of the commentators said during the broadcast.
However, Schwartzel’s ball had already entered the penalty area before the fish moved it. As a result, the applicable procedure required him to take relief with a one-stroke penalty, rather than simply replacing the ball without penalty.
The unusual sequence ultimately contributed to Schwartzel finishing the hole with a bogey. He ended the tournament tied for 22nd at two-over par, while Joaquín Niemann captured the title after finishing at 16-under.
Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion and winner of the first-ever LIV Golf event in 2022, was competing at Bedminster as LIV Golf returned to the New York area from August 6-9.
Player Focus
Under golf’s rules, a player generally does not receive a penalty when an outside influence, including an animal, moves a ball that is at rest. In such circumstances, the ball is normally replaced at its original location.
The rules surrounding the incident are covered under Rule 9.6, which deals with situations where an outside influence moves a ball at rest. The rule applies “whether or not the player’s ball has been found”.
Because the ball was in the penalty area when the fish moved it, the location where it would have been replaced remained within that area. Rule 14.2a also states that the original ball should generally be used when replacing it.
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However, another ball can be used if “the original ball cannot be recovered with reasonable effort and in a few seconds, so long as the player did not deliberately cause the ball to become unrecoverable”.
Team Analysis
Despite the unusual circumstances, Schwartzel was handed a one-stroke penalty because the ball was considered lost. He ultimately took relief from the penalty area and finished the hole with a bogey.
Match Outlook
The 41-year-old South African saw his tee shot on the 134-yard, par-three seventh hole land on the green before rolling backward toward the water. The ball eventually ended up in the pond, where an unexpected incident unfolded.
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