‘I wasn’t attempting to do anything’: Wyndham Clark avoids penalty at Bay Hill as Brandel Chamblee’respectfully disagrees’ with ruling.
Wyndham Clark was involved in a controversy during the last moments of round three at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday.
While in a three-way tie for the lead with Shane Lowry and Scottie Scheffler on nine-under, the reigning US Open champion found the left rough on 18 and was weighing his options on how to get out of the thick vegetation when the television cameras zoomed in on Clark dabbing his club head into the ground behind the ball several times.
NBC Sports host Dan Hicks questioned whether the ball had moved slightly throughout the procedure, prompting replays that allowed analysts and viewers at home to form their own opinions.
Did Wyndham Clark just improve his lie on the 18th? Sketchy activity from the co leader pic.twitter.com/8swqFLiOpb
— Brett Hoffman (@BrettHoffmanjr) March 9, 2024
Mark Dusbabek, the PGA Tour’s primary TV rules and video commentator, was summoned to give his opinion on the situation. And, while he did not believe the ball had moved position, Dusbabek admitted the experience caused his heart to “flutter” for a moment.
He stated, “For a ball to move, according to the definition, it must go to a different location. It can move, but as long as it returns to its original location, it has not moved. So, when we watch this tape, it appears to have returned to the same location.”
When Hicks inquired about Clark potentially refining his lie, Dusbabek responded: “I realize, Dan, that it looks horrible, that maybe he’s trying to improve the region of his intended swing. … It does not appear that there is enough there.
Asked Wyndham Clark about the incident on 18. He said he was noticed by the officials in scoring, and they reviewed the footage together with Scheffler. Came to the conclusion that the ball had not moved. Also said he did not feel like it moved. «I didn’t try to cheat.»
— Espen Blaker (@espenblaker) March 9, 2024
“A player is authorized to ground his club using the weight of the club against the ground, which is exactly what he is doing right now. I believe his ball did not move, and he did nothing to impact the stroke.”
See more.
While Dusbabek believed no illegal activity had occurred, experts Brad Faxon and Luke Donald were not so confident.
According to Faxon, the weight of the club did not appear to be the sole cause. It certainly didn’t seem good.”
Donald remarked, “He should have been more cautious with that club.” “He was lying anyway, so what was the point of trying to improve the lie?”
Following a chunked-out lay-up of around 30 yards back into the fairway, Clark made bogey and fell to eight under through 54 holes at Bay Hill.
Clark told Eurosport that he first became aware of a potential infringement after entering the scoring tent and spoke with his playing partner, Scheffler, and a rules officer.
When asked about what transpired, Clark insisted that he did not try to break the rules.
He stated, “I wasn’t trying to do anything… cheating, anything like that, or trying to better my lie. I simply placed my club down.
“Clearly, they zoom in, which makes it appear worse. We all spoke about it. Scottie and the rules official did not believe it moved. So, happily, that (penalty) did not occur.”
See more.
Later in the NBC broadcast, Brandel Chamblee contended that he could see the ball move and questioned why Clark grounded his club so strongly behind the ball.
Chamblee stated, “I respectfully disagree with the rules officials.” I respectfully disagree with Wyndham Clark. The ball obviously moved. He obviously did not ground the club lightly.
“I didn’t need film to observe this; I witnessed it live and know the ball moved. I believe he should have been penalized.
According to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, a video of the incident involving Clark was transmitted to everyone on the PGA Tour’s rules committee at Bay Hill, who determined that “the ball wobbled but returned to its
original spot,” so no penalty was imposed.
Leave a Reply