Tommy Fleetwood looked at the 64-foot-tall, 53-foot-wide screen in front of him, then looked to his right. He peeked again at the screen, then peeked again to his right. He started to smile, sheepishly. After one more glance ahead, Fleetwood walked away, and it was then, after a funky 10 seconds, when Rory McIlroy raised the question folks were seemingly wondering.
“What just happened?”
Officially Tuesday night, during play in the simulator-based TGL league, Fleetwood’s shot was deemed an “invalid reading” in the matchup between Fleetwood’s Los Angeles Golf Club team and McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf team. From 167 yards out, Fleetwood had hit his three-man team’s third stroke on the 582-yard, par-5 2nd hole, nicknamed Pick Yer Plunder. It looked pure — but viewers only saw the ball rolling forward.
How did things proceed from there? A bit awkwardly.
Inside the SoFi Center in Florida, Fleetwood was confused. McIlroy shouted the question. Collin Morikawa, a teammate of Fleetwood’s, joked that the ball was in the hole. Justin Rose, another teammate of Fleetwood’s, joked with McIlroy, one of the co-founders of TGL.
“Tommy, it was too flush,” Rose joked later.
Eventually, it was called the “invalid reading.” The simulator screen had hiccuped. For those watching from home, ESPN announcer Matt Barrie said Fleetwood would hit the third stroke again.
He did. Barrie said Fleetwood would hit from 128 yards; TGL’s online leaderboard listed it as 167. The redo finished in the bunker left the green.
Fleetwood gave that one a look, too.
Invalid readings are accounted for in the TGL’s official rules. Here, in italics, is how that section of the TGL’s rules book reads:
The referee or booth official shall have the ability to deem a shot during screenplay an “inaccurate computation” at their discretion to maintain the integrity of the match and facilitate the competition. They will also have the authority to deem a “re-hit.” Scenarios where this may occur include, but are not limited to, the following:
+ Shot not captured – If a ball is struck and the competition technology fails to capture it, then the referee or booth official shall invoke a re-hit. The attempted shot is not counted towards the player’s total shots attempted. The only exception is when both the referee and booth official decide the ball was in fact mishit (commonly referred to as a “shank”). Then the shot will count, and the next player will hit from the previous position.
+ Inaccurate competition technology reading – If a ball is struck and the competition technology produces an output that is clearly and obviously incorrect, then the referee or booth official shall invoke a re-hit. The attempted shot is not counted, and the ball is reset to its previous resting position.
+ Ball strikes object before it strikes the Screen – if a ball is struck and it collides with an object, including but not limited to the following: the lip of a tee box, another player’s club, tracking technology, then the referee or booth official will invoke a re-hit.
+ Interference – A clear and obvious disruption that impedes a player’s ability to start their swing or complete their shot and compromises the integrity of the competition as ruled by the referee or booth official; the player has a choice to accept the result of the shot or re-hit. If the player opts to re-hit, the attempted shot is not counted, and the ball is reset to its previous resting position.