The vagaries of match play have nothing on the vagaries of the Rules of Golf.
Early during Wednesday’s action of the WGC-Dell Match Play Thomas Pieters’ second shot from behind the green of the drivable par-4 13th hit and ran through the putting surface, seemingly en route to water. However Pieters’ ball did not reach the hazard, the ball falling and stopping in a sprinkler head. A lucky break, it seemed. Only it wasn’t.
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The sprinkler head was inside the hazard line, meaning instead of the normal free relief given for a ball resting on a sprinkler head, Pieters had to play the ball as it lies. Pieters, a fine young player but a player known to run hot, was indignant on the ruling. Pieters proceeded to walk up to his ball, chipped it out, attempted (and missed) kicking the ball in the water only to toss said ball in the water as he walked off after losing the hole to Tom Hoge.
Fast forward later in the day when Bryson DeChambeau found himself in the same situation—specifically, the same spot—as Pieters at the 13th. But unlike Pieters, Bryson was granted free relief from the sprinkler in his battle against Richard Bland. Bryson was able to save par and half the hole with Bland.
So, what gives?
According to rules officials, the sprinkler head was never intended to be inside the hazard lines. Because this is match play and the Pieters-Hoge match has no bearing on the DeChambeau-Bland match (they are not in the same round-robin group), the mistake was fixed mid-competition. Shortly after DeChambeau-Bland finished the 13th, rules officials repainted the line to signify the sprinkler head in question was properly marked.
Certainly a bizarre situation, even by the ridiculous standards of the Rules of Golf. Conversely, it is a situation made more palatable by the fact that it did not ultimately hurt Pieters, as he won his match against Hoge 2 & 1.