Pro dumps 2 into water — then gets ‘big break’ after intriguing rules talk

Charley Hoffman’s first ball? It was doomed early, no question. 

But he asked one on his second. 

Would Jason Day and Sepp Straka mind walking up about 175 yards or so and checking?

All of it made for intriguing theater Sunday during the final round of the PGA Tour’s American Express event. There were two water balls off the tee from Hoffman on the 208-yard, par-3 13th at the Pete Dye Stadium Course. There was back-and-forth. There was the rules question — which likely put Hoffman’s fate in his playing partners’ hands. There was an answer.  

Starting the hole, Hoffman had been tied for second, three back of Straka, before double-crossing his tee ball into the water that runs the length of the hole’s left side. He dropped a few yards ahead and tried again, before sailing left and into the water again. 

But did that one maybe cross over a little piece of turf that jutted out from the water — and was also near the green? 

Had it, he could drop there. Had it, he’d avoid hitting a third ball from where he’d already rinsed two. 

Hoffman talked with his caddie. Andy Barnes. He talked with Day and Straka, his playing partners. Golf Channel mics picked up some of the conversation. 

Said Hoffman, talking about his ball: “Drew in.” 

Said Day: “Yeah, it drew in. Like landed …”

Said Hoffman: “Landed just short of the …”

Said Day: “Like on the wall [that separates the water from the hole]. …”

Said Hoffman: “I’m not going to do anything without you guys saying OK.” 

Said Straka: “Like 75 percent sure I’m sure that it crossed.”

Which, of course, is not 100. 

So Hoffman asked:

“I think we need to be sure that it crossed. … You guys want to go up and look?”

Straka said they would. 

The move would speed up play — if Hoffman joined them and it was determined that his ball hadn’t crossed, he’d have to zip back to where he’d previously hit. There was also a high degree of trust involved — both Day and Straka would likely solely determine Hoffman’s fate, while also thinking about their own upcoming shots, from the green. The call for certainty from his playing partners — and not making the call by himself — drew praise from Golf Channel analyst Johnson Wagner. 

Straka and Day walked up. They looked around. Day pointed back at Hoffman. 

Hoffman gave a thumbs-up and walked up. 

Said Wagner on the broadcast: “That’s a big break, otherwise he’s going to be hitting that same exact shot a third time.”

Said on-course analyst Billy Ray Brown: “Jason and Sepp decided there’s a little contour just to the left of the green that kind of juts out a little bit. I think it crossed right there before it went into the water. And that’s just a little bit short and left of the putting surface.”

From the spot, Hoffman took a two club-length drop, which put him on the green, and he two-putted for a triple-bogey. Five holes later, he signed for a one-under 71, and he finished tied for fifth.      

“Once your playing partners decide that for you,” Brown said of the drop, “it takes any doubt off.”