Mark Russell Works Hard To Assess This Penalty Shot

What sounded like an unfortunate but no-brainer of a ruling, Brian Gay was assessed a shot after Gay stepped on his ball while looking for it in a 17th hole hazard. The penalty opened the door for 18 more players to make the cut, but even more stunning was how long Gay and caddie Kip Henley made their case after the Travelers Championship round.

Brian Wacker reports:

By saying he’d come in contact with the ball, Gay was, in essence, saying just that, according to PGA TOUR VP of Rules and Competition Mark Russell — though Gay and caddie Kip Henley tried to state their argument for the better part of an hour after the round that the ball was already embedded.

Gay tried to play the ball out of the hazard, but it went just a few feet before he pitched up short of the green and eventually onto it and two-putted for a quadruple-bogey.

Heading into the final round, Brian Davis and Roland Thatcher hold the lead, Stuart Appleby and Padraig Harrington lurking. The highlights:

Comments

[Tommy]

Doesn't seem a big issue. Rule 12-1c says that, if you move the ball during search in a hazard, you get a penalty stroke. If there's any doubt about if the ball was moved by the player (or caddie), it must be solved against the player.

[digsouth]

What with Kip being barefooted, you'd think he'd have felt the aura of the ball before stepping down-bummer..

[DTF]

Bubba has been surly and had negative body language all day today. What's up with him these days? Is he gonna take the rest of the year off?

[ol Harv]

@dtf Let's hope.