Patrick Reed, who never seems to lack controversy, found out again on Saturday during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open on the par 4 10th hole, when he pulled the ball from a built-in lie and gave a free drop. The 10th was part of an 18 roller coaster on which Reed hit 70 and is tied for the lead for Sunday’s final round.
After his second shot at the 10th par 4 hole jumped to the left side of the hole in the rough coarse, Reed walked towards him, bent and picked him up. He claimed it was embedded, although video evidence shows that he jumped after landing the first time and jumped no more than a meter back into the air. For it to be embedded, the soil must have been incredibly wet.
Reed said after his round that no one in his group nor the volunteer standing near the ball saw it bounce, so he was checking to see if it had “broken the plane” of the ground.
After moving it, Reed called a rules officer and had him put his fingers on the field mark. The official, clearly surprised that Reed had already moved the ball, confirmed that there was indeed a lip where Reed’s ball first stopped and considered that Reed was correct in removing the embedded ball. From there, Reed went down and up and down to the pair.
Reed was shocked that the video after the round showed that the ball had bounced and confirmed that it is “almost impossible” for a ball to connect (or fit) if it bounces. This raises many questions, the least of which is what he and the rules official were feeling if it were “almost impossible” for the ball to bounce when bouncing.
Reed confirmed that the rules officer told him that everything was done “perfectly” and that it was a “manual” to deal with an unstable situation. He also seemed to pass the blame on to the volunteer who never saw the ball bounce, as well as to the rules official who confirmed the incorporation. If it were an attempt to see how much leeway the rules officer would give him (he wouldn’t be the first to do so), it was successful.
“If you had 100 people out there, a lot of fans out there and a fan said they saw you jump, I would never have to put a T-shirt down and not even check to see if it was embedded,” said Reed. for common sense and that is why you always call a rules officer, because at the end of the day they will have the best judgment on everyone. If they believe it’s embedded too, then you follow what they say. ”
Reed said he would not have done anything different and, in fact, considers himself a model for what PGA Tour players should do in situations like these.
“It is an unfortunate thing that happened today, but at the same time it is exactly what I would have done every time, exactly what every player should do,” said Reed. “You should ask your opponents if they saw if it is a bouncing ball or if it crosses a danger line, you always ask them first and then ask the volunteer and, from there, check to see and at that point, you call a rules officer.
“It’s unfortunate, but at the same time, when you have the rules officials and everyone comes and says that you did a textbook and did it exactly as you were supposed to, then that’s all you can do. I mean, when we’re there out and we’re playing, we can’t see everything. That’s why you have other players, other opponents, you have volunteers and you also have official rules. When they all say what we’ve done is the right thing, then you move on and move on. ”
The whole thing was questionable for someone who never had a problem with the rules. Why Reed? It is almost indefensible, and the more he talked after the round, the worse it seemed to get. Following the confusion on the 10th, Reed made four bogeys on his next six holes before a birdie put him down 10 and tied for the lead on Sunday.
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