Tommy Fleetwood is one of the most popular players on the PGA Tour, but that didn’t stop fans from calling for him to be penalized at last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge.
Fleetwood finished T4 at Colonial Country Club, one of seven top-five finishes of the season for British players, but he was able to do so by sinking a long putt on the final hole.
advertisement
The putt was greeted with enthusiastic applause from the gallery on the 18th, but fans online were quick to argue that Fleetwood should have lost his top-five spot and received a one-stroke penalty.
Photo by Austin McAfee/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Why fans wanted Tommy Fleetwood to take a one-shot penalty
Fleetwood’s 30-foot putt to finish in the top five had a Hollywood quality. The putt was so close to the edge of the hole that the British player appeared to miss it with difficulty. However, the ball stayed on the verge of falling for a few seconds before finally falling.
However, fans thought the putt should not have counted and an extra stroke should have been added to Fleetwood’s score. The rules of golf are that players have enough time to walk to the hole and then have an additional 10 seconds to see if the ball goes in.
advertisement
If the ball goes in after this time, it will be counted as a hole out, but the player will be given a penalty stroke.
Fans believed this rule should have applied to Fleetwood. Fleetwood took a while to walk up to the ball and waited for it to fall. It could also be argued that Fleetwood’s shot should have been added to the score, as the ball had been stationary for more than the time limit.
This rule has applied many times in the past for similar minutes, so why would a different rule apply to Fleetwood, even at the cost of a top-10 finish?
However, no penalty was actually awarded, and he recorded his 27th career top-five finish on the PGA Tour.
advertisement
Player given a one-stroke penalty for waiting too long
Fleetwood may have been able to avoid this problem at last year’s Colonial, but other players on the PGA Tour and major championships weren’t so lucky.
The one that sticks out in my mind is Lee Hodges at the 2023 PGA Championship. During the third round at Oak Hill, Hodges hit a par putt on the 17th hole, but it stopped on the lip.
He stood up and waited about 30 seconds. In the end, he dropped the ball, but because he exceeded the 10-second time limit, his par turned into a penalty bogey.
The same thing happened to Kim Si Woo at the 2021 RBC Heritage. Kim’s birdie putt on the third hole nearly touched the edge of the cup. Along with playing partner Matt Kuchar, Kim waited about 42 seconds for the ball to finally drop.
advertisement
However, once again, the wait time exceeded the allowed time, so a one-stroke penalty was added, and the spectacular birdie turned into a par. In both cases, the rules strictly consider the ball to be at rest after 10 seconds, even though the ball may still appear to be vibrating or moving slightly.
