‘Big lump of bird…’: Major champ faces bizarre rules scenario at Senior PGA

Padraig Harrington came oh-so-close to a second-career senior major win on Sunday at the 2025 Senior PGA Championship, only to collapse on the final holes. But just before his late swoon began, the three-time major champ faced one of the more bizarre rules scenarios you will see in a pro tournament involving bird droppings. And it’s one you could easily encounter in your own rounds.

Here’s what you need to know.

Harrington surrenders major lead

Harrington was on fire to start Sunday’s final round of the Senior PGA Championship at Congressional in Maryland.

The 53-year-old opened with back-to-back birdies, then added two more on the front nine to reach seven under for the tournament.

By the time he reached the 15th hole, he had a two-shot lead and a clear path to his second senior major victory. But then Harrington made a devastating double bogey at 15, followed by a short par miss at 18 that would have earned him a spot in the playoff.

But it was at the hole just before Harrington’s collapse where the eyebrow-raising rules moment occurred.

Harrington stumped by bird droppings on green

Arriving at the par-4 15th hole at Congressional on Sunday, Harrington had a one-shot lead. He safely reached the green in two, setting up a 30-foot birdie try.

“I hit my second shot, that’s about as — it was a really great second shot, 6-iron to there, so what was it, 30 feet? To get it on that plateau, that’s probably the toughest pin on the golf course,” Harrington said of his play on 14 Sunday evening.

One problem. A bird had left a “big” surprise for Harrington on the putting surface. Directly on his putting line in between his ball and the hole laid a “lump” of bird droppings.

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A wily Tour veteran, Harrington knows the Rules of Golf as well as anyone. But this situation even had him second-guessing himself.

Rule 15 governs the removal of loose impediments on the golf course. Rule 15.1a states “You may remove a loose impediment without penalty anywhere on or off the course, and may do so in any way (such as by using your hand or foot or a club or other equipment).”

On first glance, the interfering bird droppings in Harrington’s case would easily fall under the description of a loose impediment. But as Harrington explained after, the droppings weren’t exactly loose, and given the high stakes of the situation, he called in a rules official for help.

“It was a big lump of bird… I wasn’t sure how much I could scrape it,” Harrington explained Sunday after his round. “I know you can brush it off, but I had to actually scrape it off the green.”

Fortunately for Paddy, the rules official confirmed he could remove the bird droppings from his putting line before hitting his shot.

Better yet? Harrington rolled in the 30-foot birdie bomb to increase his lead to two shots with three holes to play.

After all the rules discussions, Harrington admitted he was “thrilled to hole the putt.”

Unfortunately, it was not a sign for how the rest of his round would play out. Playing behind him, Angel Cabrera made a late charge and only needed a bogey at 18 to claim his second-straight senior major title by one shot.