JJ Spaun was tied for the lead at 11 under as he made his way to the back nine on Sunday during the final round of the Players Championship. While he still had a long way to go to potentially beat Rory McIlroy and win the biggest title of his career at TPC Sawgrass, there was a critical moment on the ninth hole where Spaun nearly played himself out of contention. However, he managed to use the Rules of Golf to his advantage, which allowed him to maintain his momentum and stay in the tournament.
On the 592-yard par 5 ninth hole, Spaun was attempting a layup with his approach shot but saw his ball fading toward the thick rough. The ball bounced, settled, and disappeared into the grass. Jim Mackay, often called “Bones,” described the situation as a “horrible lie” for Spaun’s third shot from 45 yards.
In the image, you can see the ball landing in the rough, just before it settles.
However, there was a key detail that helped Spaun in this situation. A sprinkler head was located near his ball, and since his feet were touching the sprinkler head, he was entitled to free relief under Rule 16.1. Spaun measured out one club-length and prepared to drop the ball, though it would still land in the thick rough.
Yet, luck was on his side as another sprinkler head was within his relief area. Spaun smartly dropped the ball onto the second sprinkler head, which allowed him to gain a second free relief. By doing so, he could measure out another club-length, and this time the drop placed him in the fairway rather than the rough.
In this image, you can see Spaun’s ball landing in the fairway after the second drop.
Mackay explained the situation on the broadcast: “He intentionally dropped it in the sprinkler, got himself a second club-length away from that, and got into the fairway.” This move, while a bit unorthodox, was entirely legal under Rule 16 and took advantage of a quirky aspect of the rules, something players can use strategically in situations like this.
Here is an image showing Spaun with his ball in the fairway after the drop.
From the fairway, Spaun hit a precise wedge shot to six feet from the hole and then sank the birdie putt to reach 11 under, tying McIlroy for the lead. Brad Faxon called it “a tremendous break,” and it could very well be the turning point that propels Spaun toward victory.