Jon Rahm embedded-ball ruling highlights officiating gray area

JOHANNESBURG — When Jon Rahm found his opening tee shot in the left rough in the third round of LIV South Africa, he called in a rules official to confirm that his ball had embedded in its own pitch mark, a scenario by which the rules would grant him free relief.

The official, Grover Walker, who has three decades of refereeing experience for the USGA, arrived and, in short order, agreed with Rahm and Rahm’s caddie, Adam Hayes: the ball was embedded. Hayes noted that it was “down past the root system.” 

That the ball had plugged was no surprise. The Club at Steyn City has been drenched by rain this week, and Rahm had tried driving the green, some 330 yards away on a hole with more than 100 feet of vertical drop. His shot landed in a low area not far from a creek bed. Just moments before Rahm had let his tee ball fly, the ball of his playing partner, Dean Burmester, also had plugged, albeit in the fairway.

Less clear, however, was whether Rahm’s ball had embedded in its own pitch mark, which is a requirement for relief.

The LIV broadcast appeared to show something different: Rahm’s drive hitting the ground and bouncing forward about two feet in the air before disappearing into the thick Kikuyu rough. Could the ball have landed in another player’s pitch mark, unbeknownst to everyone on the ground? Absolutely. Pitch marks don’t have initials. Could the ball, after bounding, have sunk into it own second pitch mark? That’s possible but far less likely. Complicating matters further was that Rahm, given his obscured vantage point from the tee, couldn’t see his ball land, meaning all he could do was exactly what he did: assess his lie as he found it and follow the guidance of the referee. 

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LIV Golf issued a brief statement on the ruling:

“At the start of Round 3, Jon Rahm’s tee shot on Hole 1 came to rest in the rough. Rahm sought the advice of a referee to see if his ball was embedded. After consulting with the referee, it was determined that the ball was embedded and he received relief before hitting the second shot.

“Per Rule 16.3, a ball that bounces can still be embedded in its own pitch mark and does not automatically negate the possibility of relief.” 

LIV’s rules officials come from across the golf industry — with experience monitoring USGA, LPGA and state golf association events. They are empowered to lean on LIV’s “Any Shot, Any Time” replay technology to gain more information than what might be available on the scene of a ruling but do so only when there are questions or uncertainty about a ruling. If there is no doubt, the official makes the call and the group moves on. In this case, Rahm and Walker agreed upon what most likely had happened, as did Brett Rumford, the walking broadcaster in the group.

While the Rules of Golf are mostly airtight, there is still gray area and need for judgment calls, especially on a wet course. The replay casts doubt on whether Rahm’s ball embedded in its own mark, but how quickly could that information have been relayed to the rules official? It doesn’t take much for a ball be considered “embedded,” as evidenced by this diagram from the USGA. Also, eyewitnesses were scant given Rahm’s ball landed on the far side of the hole, maybe 70 yards from any fans.

As Rahm was getting his ruling, LIV commentator David Feherty reviewed a replay on the broadcast and offered his own assessment.

“Ah, no, that didn’t bury,” Feherty said to his booth mate Nico Colsaerts. “Interesting, Nico, that he’s getting a drop there. That ball obviously looked like it had buried, and it can do that in this Kikuyu grass.”

“Yes, but the referee stands,” Colsaerts said. “He’s the one giving the ruling.”

After taking his relief, Rahm pitched to three feet and made the ensuing putt for one of his eight birdies on the day.

“Took advantage of a good break,” Feherty said.

Rahm signed for a seven-under 64 Saturday to move to 18 under for the week. He is three back of Bryson DeChambeau with 18 holes to play.