The third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational ended in controversy. Windham Clark appeared to address the ball and it moved before his second shot on the 18th, but he received no two-stroke penalty.
Clark has since addressed the issue, telling media he did not commit any wrongdoing.
However, on Saturday night golf central Analyst Brandel Chamblee expressed his displeasure on the television broadcast. with the judgment.
“I respectfully disagree with the rules officials and Wyndham Clark. The ball clearly moved. He clearly did not ground the club lightly. You don’t need video to see this. Live. I saw it and I knew the ball moved,” Chamblee said. “I think he should have been punished.”
Clark also bogeyed the 18th, but it could have been much worse.
The NBC broadcast team saw the shot live and felt like something had happened.
Their speculation prompted Mark Dasbabec, the PGA Tour’s chief TV rules and video analyst, to come on the air and explain.
“group [Hicks], that makes my heart flutter, too,” Dusvabek said. “By definition, in order for the ball to move, it must go somewhere else. It can move, but as long as it returns to its original location, it is not technically moving. Therefore, When you watch this tape, it looks like you’re back in the same place.”
Hicks then asked if he felt Rye had improved since Clark grounded the club behind the ball so many times.
“I know, Dan, he doesn’t seem to be doing well. Maybe he’s trying to improve the range of his intended swing… it doesn’t seem like there’s enough there,” Dusvavec said. “Players are allowed to ground the club by putting the weight of the club on the ground. So that’s basically what he’s doing there. I don’t think his ball moved, I don’t think I did anything that affected my stroke.”
After the round, Arnold Palmer Invitational referee Ken Tackett spoke with Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis to explain why there was no stroke penalty. The committee that made the ruling agreed that the ball wobbled but returned to its original position.
The authorities are also considering the “unaided eye” criterion. What does that mean?
If the facts in the video cannot be easily seen with the naked eye, the evidence will be ignored, even if it indicates a violation of the rules.
Chamblee didn’t care about those reports or Clark’s reaction. He did not allege that the reigning US Open champion cheated, but wondered why the Ryder Cup alumnus grounded his club so strongly.
Still, Clark enters the final round at 8 under par, one stroke behind leaders Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.If you want to know more about golf, please follow us. @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
