Xander Schauffele was behind a tree, then wasn’t — thanks to ‘2nd opinion’
CBS
Xander Schauffele was blocked by a tree.
But he apparently wouldn’t be denied by a guidelines official.
In the top throughout Saturday’s third spherical of the WM Phoenix Open, Schauffele birdied the par-5 thirteenth at TPC Scottsdale, and he’ll begin Sunday’s ultimate spherical 4 pictures again of chief Scottie Scheffler. And a “second opinion” performed a half.
“Just turned six into four,” analyst Frank Nobilo stated throughout the CBS broadcast.
The sequence started when Schauffele’s tee shot on 13 got here to relaxation possibly a half-foot from the bottom of a tree. From there, he had no shot ahead — he would probably have to play simply 90 levels to the left — however he reportedly had one other play.
According to CBS on-course analyst Mark Immelman, Schauffele believed that he could be standing in an animal gap on the shot, and he sought reduction. On the published, CBS cameras confirmed an indentation within the floor between the ball and the tree, together with a couple different indentations within the close by space.
Schauffele, in accordance to Immelman, then made his case to one official, was denied, known as for a second official and gained.
“Xander Schauffele had the ball right back up against that palo verde tree, and it was against a root, but he was standing in a burrowing animal hole, so did a whole lot of lobbying with a first rules official and was denied,” Immelman stated on the published. “Called in a second opinion and not only got relief, and a swing and a shot.”
“That’s a massive break,” Nobilo stated “… Take anything after that. Second shot being right that tree could be looking at five, six.”
In the foundations e book, animal holes are covered under Rule 16.1a. It states: “Interference exists when any one of these is true: The player’s ball touches or is in or on an abnormal course condition; an abnormal course condition physically interferes with the player’s area of intended stance or area of intended swing.”
After he was given reduction, Schauffele hit about a yard to the left of the place his ball had been. From there, with nearly 200 yards to the opening, he punched his ball ahead, it rolled to the again of the inexperienced, and he two-putted for a birdie 4.
At the time, that moved him to inside a shot of Scheffler, however Schauffele bogeyed 15 and 16, and he completed with a one-under 71.
Notably, as Nobilo additionally identified on the published, the thirteenth was additionally the opening the place, in 1999, Tiger Woods enlisted a small military to assist transfer a boulder so as to hit a shot.
“My goodness, that is downright robbery,” Immelman stated on the published of Schauffele’s birdie.
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