Mcilroy benefits from a rules reversal but there was no such joy for Webb
Rory Mcilroy had a two-shot penalty rescinded at The Northern Trust, the opening Fedex play-off event, after it was determined he had not intended to improve his lie in a bunker. Mcilroy was punished on the course after finding the bunker on the par three 14th at Liberty National.
The Northern Irishman bent down to remove what he thought was a small stone behind his ball but, when he touched it, Mcilroy realised it was just a clump of sand.
Mcilroy told rules officials what he had done, and he was originally assessed a two-shot penalty as it was considered his actions may have tested the surface.
However, PGA Tour rules officials later reversed the decision, and Mcilroy eventually carded a three-under-par 68 to leave him tied for seventh heading into yesterday’s third round, and three shots adrift of the halfway leader Dustin Johnson.
“It’s such a grey area and it came down to me,” Mcilroy said after his round on Friday, adding that he had accepted a twostroke penalty on the New Jersey course because he did not want to hold up play.
“I thought it was a rock; it wasn’t. I moved my hand away and then I was like, I don’t know if I’ve done anything wrong here.
“The reason I called someone over is I don’t want anything on my conscience, either.
“I feel like I play the game with integrity and I’m comfortable saying that I didn’t improve anything.”
While Mcilroy benefited from the game’s rules, the same could not be said for former US Open champion Webb Simpson.
Simpson realised that he had cracked his driver after his tee shot at the third flew on a funny trajectory.
The new rules that debuted this year allowed players to either repair or continue using damaged clubs. They were no longer allowed to replace a broken club, though.
A local rule, added in April, once again allowed players to replace a club that is “broken or significantly damaged.”
That no longer includes clubs with cracked faces, though.
Simpson tried to hit the driver a handful more times during his second round, but each shot with the damaged face resulted in a ball that flew low and left. “It didn’t fly anywhere,” said Simpson.
He was resigned to hitting 3-wood on several holes on the back nine where he’d usually hit driver.
He shot 73 to end a streak of six consecutive rounds of 65 or lower.