[Interesting Golf Rules] Bradley "Marked and Picked Up the Ball but Got 2 Penalty Strokes"... What's the Story?

'The 5th Major' The Players Championship Round 2, 16th Hole 'Mark Moves Due to Wind', $360,000 Loss Due to Penalty

Keegan Bradley received a two-stroke penalty for a slow play on the 16th hole during the second day of The Players Championship.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "The two-stroke penalty feels unfair."

Keegan Bradley (USA) suffered a critical double bogey on the 16th hole (par 5) during the remaining rounds of the second round at The Players Championship (total prize money $20 million), known as the "fifth major" on the PGA Tour, on the 14th. This misfortune was compounded by a two-stroke penalty due to a misunderstanding of the golf rules. This happened after successfully reaching the green in two shots, where a three-putt from 18 meters for par was already disappointing. The issue arose right after the eagle putt, when he still had a 3-meter birdie putt left.

As he was about to mark and pick up the ball, a sudden gust of wind caused the ball to roll away. He picked it up again and putted, finishing with par. However, the officials decided to impose a "two-stroke penalty for a breach of Rule of Play" on the next hole. The explanation was that "the effect of marking only takes place after the ball is picked up." The ball remains "in play." If the ball moves at this point, the stroke must be made from where it stopped.

In the end, Bradley should have attempted the birdie putt with the ball as it lay. Once the ball is lifted and replaced, even if it rolls, it must be played from the marked spot. Amidst severe weather conditions including heavy rain, strong winds, and cold that disrupted play from the first day, Bradley, who scored 3-under par on the second day and called it "the best round of my life," faced an unexpected trial. "None of my playing partners objected," he said, bowing his head, "and I thought the rule had been easily changed through revisions."

Bradley’s two-stroke penalty was ultimately worth $360,000 (about 440 million KRW) on the final day. He surged to 5th place (9-under par 279) by shooting consecutive 4-under par rounds in the 3rd and 4th rounds, earning $820,000 (about 1 billion KRW) in prize money. This tournament is the largest "money party" in the global golf world, with a winner’s prize of a whopping $3.6 million (about 4.4 billion KRW). Without the two-stroke penalty, he could have earned $1.18 million (about 1.44 billion KRW) as a two-way tie for 3rd place (11-under par 277).

Locally, there was even analysis that "the two-stroke penalty had a huge impact on the competition for the championship." Bradley was 3 strokes behind leader Cameron Smith (Australia) on the final 18th hole (par 4) of the 4th round and played aggressively, but his second shot landed in the water, resulting in a "4-on 2-putt" double bogey and dropping him to 5th place. Had he safely made a par play from 2nd place, one stroke behind, an extension playoff could have been possible with Smith’s bogey. Knowing the golf rules is power.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.