You can drop your clubs and you can drop your score, but doing both turns out to be quite difficult. Ryo Hisatsune learned this in an unusually painful way on Sunday afternoon at the Australian Open.
Hisatsune was coming to the end of a challenging week at Royal Melbourne when he reached the green on the 8th hole, a long par-4. From the green he was faced with a classic Australian sandbelt golf shot: a sharp chip from a firm lie in a green protected by large waves.
But as luck would have it, the chip was the least of Hisatsune’s concerns about hole 8. His biggest problem? A accomplished fact between its 56 degrees and gravity.
As he walked to his pitch shot, Hisatsune’s caddy Taiga Tabuchi handed him his wedge. But as Hisatsune stepped to take his ball, something went wrong: his club slipped through his hands and fell to the ground, hitting his golf ball and sending him several yards in the other direction.
In some cases, this kind of indiscretion would be little more than a reason to chuckle. Under Rule 9.4 of the Rules of Golfplayers may replace their ball without penalty if such action occurs at the putting or teeing ground, if it occurs while searching for a lost ball, or if a “reasonable action” caused the ball to move, such as removing a loose impediment or retrieving another ball.
But because these actions did not include Hisatsune’s hiccups, the punishment was slightly harsher than ‘replace and forget’. Hisatsune was given a one-time penalty and ordered to return his ball to its original position.
The bad news for Hisatsune is that his club fumble made a tough par all but impossible. After receiving confirmation from a rules official, he chipped onto the green and quickly cleared a double-bogey 6 – his first of two such big numbers on a Sunday afternoon that ended his day and weekend at 6, tied for 51st.
The good news was that the damage was over almost immediately. Hisatsune was able to return his ball to its original position and continue his round with only one penalty.
And maybe a better grip on his wedges.
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#Oops #Pros #club #fumble #results #unusual #penalty