Third round co-leader Patrick Reed found himself dealing with another rule issue on Saturday at the Farmers Insurance Open when he sought relief for a built-in ball – that television replays had first bounced – and then caught the ball before an official rule could arrive.
Reed, the 2018 Masters champion who suffered accusations of cheating after an incident at Hero World Challenge 2019, pulled his approach shot from a fairway bunker to the left rough on the 10th hole at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
A ball embedded in any part of the lawn, except in sandy areas, is entitled to a free fall, which was what Reed was looking for. But the repetitions showed that the ball had bounced before it hit the field.
CBS analyst Nick Faldo questioned how a ball could be incorporated – or plugged in – if it had bounced first.
Due to the heavy rain in the tournament, the round was being played with preferential lies, or “getting up, cleaning up and putting up”. But that only applies to the balls that are on the fairway.
To make matters worse, Reed took the ball – which should have been allowed only if his playing partners, Robby Shelton and Will Gordon, had been consulted and allowed him to do so. It was not clear whether Reed asked them or if they answered.
Reed can be heard telling the rules official that his ball had not bounced, but he refused to watch the television replays. “I checked it out and I believe he made his way, ” Reed told Tour Rules Officer Brad Fabel. They said it didn’t bounce. ”
Reed said in an interview after the round that a tournament volunteer told him that the ball did not bounce; and he explained that he took the ball and scored it because nobody saw the ball bounce and he was trying to determine if it was embedded. When Fabel checked the area, he determined that Reed was allowed relief.
This gave Reed the ability to clean the ball and drop it within the length of the club. He took the ball up and down for a pair and is tied in the lead with Carlos Ortiz after hitting a 70 in the third round.
Rules officer Ken Tackett explained during the CBS broadcast that, once it was determined that the ball had embedded, it didn’t matter whether it bounced first. Faldo questioned this, and CBS’s main announcer, Jim Nantz, called it “bad looks.”
At Hero World Challenge 2019, Reed was subjected to immense scrutiny after it was determined that he “improved his lie” in a waste area by dragging his club back during practice strokes. He later received a 2-stroke penalty, and then accepted the penalty, but maintained a different camera angle would have exonerated him.
Reed endured considerable insults the following week at the Presidents Cup and his caddy and brother-in-law, Kessler Karain, even went into an altercation with a spectator, leading to the PGA Tour suspending him from the action on the last day.