‘Welcome to rules of golf’: Pro catches ‘all-world break’ after animal decision

Michael Kim, after landing in jail, sprung himself loose via a “critter” hole. 

Only in golf, right?

“Like finding a needle in a haystack,” announcer Mark Immelman said. 

In the end, Kim ho-hum parred Black Desert Resort’s par-5 18th hole. But in the 20 or so minutes prior to that during Thursday’s first round of the Black Desert Championship, there was a smorgasbord of activity, including:

— A break. Kim had dumped his first tee shot into lava rocks and vegetation to the left of the fairway, repeated himself on his provisional ball — only to miraculously find ball one amongst the rocks and various vegetation. 

Still, there were issues. 

His ball had nestled into an indentation on the ground. Could he swing at his ball? Probably not. Unplayable-lie relief would probably be the play, and a one-shot penalty would be taken.  

— A thought. Was that aforementioned indentation just your run-of-the-mill indentation? Maybe. 

Or had an animal created it? Maybe. If so, Kim would get relief via the abnormal course condition rule — without being docked a shot. He called for an official. 

“I feel like there’s probably half the field [who] wouldn’t have even thought of doing that,” analyst Matt Every said on the PGA Tour Live broadcast. 

— A call. A rules official arrived. He investigated, before reaching out to another official over a walkie-talkie for guidance. 

Parts of the conversation were picked up by PGA Tour Live mics:

Said the official on the scene: “Hey, you obviously know this property more. I’m assuming we have some critters that are going around this desert. … Some type of animal holes around these bushes.” 

Said the official on the other end of the walkie-talkie: “Yeah, we definitely have …”

Said the official on the scene: “Yeah, when I stick my finger, it definitely goes underneath. There’s got to be some sort of animal hole, I would think.”

— A ruling. The indentation was determined to be an animal hole, and penalty-free relief was given.  

Said Immelman on the PGA Tour Live broadcast: “This is a massive blessing.”

Said Every: “It sure is. Welcome to the rules of golf, folks. You can drive it in the middle of the fairway in a divot and not get relief, then drive it in jail — literal jail — and get a free drop. What a game.” 

Said Immelman: “I guess it makes a case for knowing the rules.”

— A placement of the ball. After the ruling, rocks were cleared away, and Kim was able to place his ball after attempts to drop it didn’t work. 

Said Every on the PGA Tour Live broadcast: “It’s a shame, though, that the official doesn’t have a tee on him so he can just tee it up for him, then hit out of there. I’m just kidding.” 

Said Immelman: “No, you’re not.” 

Said Every: “I mean, this is an all-world break. It truly is.” 

Said Immelman: “If he makes four here, that is like daylight robbery.” 

Said Every: “It’s also all-world because his provisional went into the jungle as well. I mean, we could potentially be saving four shots here, it feels like.”

 — A laugh and a post. After the drop, Kim hit an iron to the fairway, then hit an iron to 12 feet. Would he make birdie? He didn’t, though when his ball touched the right edge of the hole on the putt, he winced, before covering his face and laughing. 

Undoubtedly, Kim knew what had gone down. 

Said Immelman on the PGA Tour Live broadcast: “I think, in the end, after whipping two tee shots into the lava down the left, if you told him, hey, you can have five, he would have ran to the green.” 

Said Every: “He wanted to make that [birdie putt] so he could write about it [on social media].”

Notably, Kim did. After parring the 18th and finishing with a three-under 68, he wrote this:

“On my way to buy a lotto ticket…. Got some breaks today!”