Rory McIlroy was cruising along on Friday at Liberty National, having gone two under on his first 13 holes to pull within a few shots of the leaders. But his solid round was spoiled at the signature par-3 14th hole, where the Northern Irishman found the front right greenside bunker from the tee, only for things to get much worse from there.
After arriving in the bunker to play his second shot, McIlroy noticed what he thought was a stone leaning up against his ball. Prior to this year, that would have been tough luck for the four-time major champ, as he would have had to play the ball as it lies. But under the new Rules, specifically Rules 12.2a and 12.2b, McIlroy is allowed to touch or move loose impediments in a bunker, he’s even allowed to touch the sand with his hand or his club, so long as it’s not deliberate or directly in front of or behind the ball.
As McIlroy went to lift and remove the stone, he quickly found out it was not a stone but a clump of sand, pulling his hand away and doing nothing to alter his lie or move his golf ball. Immediately, he called over PGA Tour Rules official Dave Donnelly, and was adamant that he wasn’t deliberately touching the sand behind his ball.
“I didn’t intentionally touch sand,” McIlroy said to Donnelly, who discussed the situation with another Rules official on his walkie talkie. Donnelly informed him that it was likely still going to be a penalty.
After some more discussion, Donnelly confirmed it was a two-stroke penalty for touching the sand behind his ball, which McIlroy believes he was not doing. The PGA Tour has posted video of the ruling in its entirety. Watch the full exchange below:
To McIlroy’s credit, you can see how well he handled the whole thing. Some other players may not have been as calm about the whole ordeal, but he was able to get up and down for double bogey, and then bounce back with a birdie on his very next hole.
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