ORLANDO – Wyndham Clark finds himself in the thick of the hunt for the Arnold Palmer Invitational title on Sunday and also in the thick of a rules controversy.
Clark found himself in a tie for the lead as he approached the 18th hole during the third round at Bay Hill Club & Lodge on Saturday. Unfortunately, his tee shot veered into the right rough. Despite successfully punching out to the fairway, Clark’s actions of forcefully placing his club behind the ball multiple times, and even having his caddie clean the club face, raised concerns. Video evidence was reviewed to determine if the ball had moved, potentially leading to a one-stroke penalty.
Luke Donald, who was serving as an analyst for NBC’s broadcast that week, commented, “He should exercise more caution.”
The issue was promptly attended to by the network, as they swiftly brought in PGA Tour rules official Mark Dusbabek. In a conversation with NBC’s Dan Hicks, Dusbabek expressed his own excitement, stating, “That also makes my heart flutter.” Dusbabek then proceeded to provide a thorough explanation of the Rules of Golf pertaining to ball movement. According to these rules, if the ball merely wobbles or oscillates but remains in its original position or returns to it, it is considered to have not moved.
“After reviewing the footage, it appears that the ball does indeed come back,” Dusbabek remarked.
Dusbabek contended that there was insufficient evidence to indicate that Clark, the current U.S. Open champion, attempted to enhance his lie. “A player is permitted to ground his club with the weight of the club against the ground. That’s essentially what he’s doing in that moment,” he stated, ultimately expressing, “I believe his ball remained stationary and he made no effort to alter his stroke.”
According to Todd Lewis of Golf Channel, Clark confirmed that he had a discussion with API’s chief referee Ken Tackett after the round. Scottie Scheffler, who was in the same pairing and signed Clark’s card, was also part of the conversation. Tackett informed Lewis that the rules committee unanimously decided that Clark’s actions did not warrant a penalty. Clark, who ended up with a bogey on the 18th hole, dropping him to 8 under and one shot behind the leader going into the final round after shooting a 1-under 71, did not face questions about a possible rules violation during his post-round press conference. However, Euro Sport caught up with him later.
“I want to clarify that I am not cheating or attempting to improve my lie,” Clark stated. “The camera zooms in, making it appear worse than it is. We all discussed it, and both Scottie and the rules official agreed that there was no movement. Thankfully, everything was resolved.”.
During the post-game show on Golf Channel, Brandel Chamblee expressed his disagreement with the ruling regarding Clark’s actions. Although Chamblee clarified that he wasn’t suggesting intent on Clark’s part, he drew attention to the fact that the golf ball had indeed moved.
Without requiring video evidence, Chamblee confidently stated that he witnessed the movement live. He questioned why Clark forcefully inserted his club into the ground and expressed his confusion over the reasoning behind such an action.
Chamblee further pondered what a Tour player must do to receive a penalty, emphasizing his belief that Clark should have been penalized.
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