Hideki Matsuyama’s two-stroke victory in Memphis was by no means a disappointment, given that it was not at all how many expected the FedEx St. Jude Championship to play out.
After Matsuyama made his second birdie of the day on the par-3 11th hole, he was in complete control of the tournament heading into the 12th hole and leading by five strokes at 19 under. He then missed the fairway left on a dogleg par-4 with water on the right side, but before he reached the water in play, PGA Tour chief umpire Gary Young chased Matsuyama down to discuss the incident on the seventh hole.
On the 475-yard par 4, Matsuyama missed the green to the right and his ball landed in the watershed below the green, but his approach shot was just wide of the green and left a big pitch mark that needed repairing, so Matsuyama walked to the green before hitting his third shot, repaired the mark, and then stomped on it.
But Matsuyama appeared to be very close to violating the rule. Golf Rules Article 8.1deals with “any action of the player which improves the conditions affecting the stroke.”
In this case, Matsuyama appeared to improve the course conditions within his line of play, violating this rule. Essentially, players must play the course as it is and may not improve course conditions for their own competitive advantage. If a player does so, they are penalized two strokes.
“At that point it was just a question of whether it was on or not. [Matsuyama’s] “The line of play,” Young said. Todd Lewis of the Golf Channel rear.
“Some of the video angles showed it was close. Close enough that we had to have a conversation with him, and unfortunately we had to do it with him mid-round. It’s never comfortable going out and talking to a player, but if he ends up getting a two-stroke penalty, it could affect his strategy for the rest of the round.”
Matsuyama’s pitch mark was about three feet to the right of the intended line for the hole — close enough for an amateur player, but not for a PGA Tour pro, much less a Masters champion.
“I had no choice but to question him. He was remembering the situation. I asked him, ‘What exactly did you do and why did you do it?’ and he said he just does that whenever there’s a pitch mark. I felt like that was way out of my line of play,” Young added.
“And that’s why he resigned.”
The Rules Committee decided not to impose a penalty on Matsuyama because he was fully justified under Rule 8.1b in properly fixing his ball mark on the green.
Young confidently agreed with the decision – he felt Matsuyama had no intention of improving his game – and added that everyone who was consulted about the decision, from the committee to the United States Golf Association (USGA), was confident in the outcome.
“It was really no problem,” Matsuyama told Golf Channel through an interpreter.
“They just wanted to make sure the rules were being followed, which they were, and it didn’t affect the rest of the day. If I had been worried I had done something wrong I would have been upset, but it really wasn’t an issue, so it was OK.”
In any case, this situation must have had some impact on Matsuyama’s play.
Matsuyama was leading by five strokes when Young spoke to him, but four holes later, when Matsuyama teed off on the par-5 16th, he was one behind Viktor Hovland. Matsuyama added to the drama in Memphis with a three-putt bogey on the 12th, a dip in the water on the 14th and a careless double bogey on the 15th.
“Unfortunately, we were watching the rest of his round and we saw what was going on and we’re really sorry that it may have affected him but that’s the hard part of our job,” Young added.
“We need to remind players about that for the remainder of the round.”
The PGA Tour ruling provided an intriguing storyline as the round progressed and captured the attention of the golfing world. But it also marked a key turning point as Matsuyama completely collapsed over the next four holes. But Matsuyama, a true champion, righted the ship at the right time, scoring birdies on the tricky 17th and 18th holes to win by two strokes.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
