Longtime PGA Tour pro Lucas Glover didn’t back down during Sunday’s final round of the 3M Open to protest Aimpoint, the green-reading system used by many competitors.
Instead, Glover admitted Monday that he took off his shoes after making a putt, responding to complaints from other golfers about metal spike marks allegedly being left on the greens at TPC Twin Cities.
After making a birdie putt on the 10th hole of the final round, Glover took off his shoes to retrieve the ball from the cup, put on his socks and walked to the hole.
“Okay, let’s fix this,” Glover said on his Instagram account on Monday. “For 23 years on the PGA Tour, I’ve been wearing spikes. 23 years ago, almost everyone was wearing spikes. It hasn’t been that long since you weren’t allowed to wear spikes. Yesterday was the first time I’ve had a complaint.
“I know over the years there have been some pretty heated arguments and arguments between other players about spike marks and gaits, but since we’ve been able to tap them, that hasn’t happened. Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever been consulted about my spikes, in the middle of a round, by an official rather than a player.”
Lucas Glover took off his shoes before approaching the hole in protest of aimpoint 👀 pic.twitter.com/HNpSZoYPPv
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 26, 2026
Michael Kim, another golfer who was participating in the tournament, posted on X, “The player wearing the metal spikes wasn’t walking cleanly and was leaving bad spike marks, so some players thought it was Lucas and complained to the rules official. The official informed him and that was the reaction.”
Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, reiterated in an Instagram statement that golfers are allowed to tap the spike marks.
“First of all, this is not a place for authorities,” Glover said in the post. “I wasn’t breaking any rules. Secondly, there were people in the group in front of me and in the group behind me who were also wearing metal spikes. The greens at 3M were soft with bent grass and looked like they had been given a fair amount of water (not expected). I don’t care what you’re wearing on your feet, metal spikes or soft spikes, they’re going to get beat up in that situation. I did my best around the hole to reduce the damage when I left the area.”
A television commentator suggested that Mr. Glover might be protesting aimpoint because a golfer would walk too close to the hole while reading a putt, but Mr. Glover insisted that it had nothing to do with his actions.
“I have no idea how anyone came to that conclusion,” Glover said. “I took my shoes off to get the ball out of the hole because it was literally the only way to not leave marks around the hole. Again, it didn’t matter what kind of spikes were on my shoes.”
Glover, 46, said the incident took attention away from rookie Jackson Koibun. Koibun won his first PGA Tour victory with a 5-under 66 and a tournament record total of 25-under 259, holding off world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
“What I’m most disappointed about in all of this is that on behalf of Jackson (Koibun), a small number of people are talking too much about this thing that doesn’t matter,” Glover said.
Glover finished tied for 57th at 5 under par. He is competing in the Rocket Classic this week at Detroit Golf Club.
“I’ll be wearing metal spikes, but the guys playing behind me are allowed to hit their marks,” Glover said. “Did I mention that?”
