The post Botched ruling on bizarre quasi-putt could play crucial role on Sunday appeared first on Golf.

The post Botched ruling on bizarre quasi-putt could play crucial role on Sunday appeared first on Golf.

Rules officials at the highest levels of the game usually get it right.

Usually, but not always.

One such exception played out on Friday at the DP World Tour event in France, where Thomas Pieters hit a putt on the 3rd green that, he said, he didn’t intend to strike.

“Kid coughed in my backstroke,” Pieters tweeted after the round. “I tried to stop…didn’t.”

Thomas’ awkward stroke/non-stroke on what was a 34-foot birdie attempt in the second round of the Cazoo Open de France advanced the ball about 5 feet. Unsure about how to proceed, Pieters called for a referee, who told Pieters that his stroke, despite Pieters’ attempt to stop it, counted and that he should play his fifth shot from where the ball lay.

Unconvinced, Pieters summoned another referee, who flipped the script. Because Pieters had not intended to hit his ball, the second referee deemed that Pieters could — under Rule 13.1d — replace the ball on its original spot without penalty. Pieters did so and two-putted for his par.

It’s impossible to know whether Pieters would also have two-putted had he not be granted a redo, but it would have been unlikely, given he would have been staring down a roughly 30-footer for his 5.

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Later on Friday, when Pieters was still on the course, the weirdness got even weirder when the chief referee on site, Mark Litton, examined a replay of Pieters’ odd stroke and determined that, in fact, the first referee had made the correct ruling. Under the definition of a stroke, Litton said, Pieters’ putt should have counted.

But it was too late to rectify. As the R&A’s rules book states: “Where a referee in stroke play incorrectly advises a player that his or her stroke does not count and to play again without penalty, the ruling stands and the player’s score with the replayed stroke is the player’s score for the hole.”

Some botched rulings are more consequential than others, and after the second round in France — when Pieters was 10 back of leader Rasmus Hojgaard — this incident looked destined to be nothing more than a wacky footnote.

But that was then.

In the third round on Saturday, Pieters surged, firing a five-under 66, while Hojgaard stumbled, posting a 74 that included a quintuple-bogey on the par-3 2nd. Through 54 holes, Hojgaard is still leading, at 12 under, but only by one.

And Pieters? He’s now just two back.

Should Pieters win by a stroke on Sunday, he’ll have, in part, one of the year’s strangest rules snafus to thank for it.    

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The post ‘Never ever seen that before’: Pro earns putting do-over after bizarre stroke appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘Never ever seen that before’: Pro earns putting do-over after bizarre stroke appeared first on Golf.

The French Open was always going to be a less-heralded golf event this week, considering the Presidents Cup is taking place in North Carolina. But when a golf broadcaster, who has seen tens of thousands of shots, pronounces they’ve never seen that before, well, you’ve certainly grabbed our attention. 

Turn your gaze away from the team match play golf for just a moment to learn a little Rules action, courtesy of Thomas Pieters and the DP World Tour. Pieters has been ascendant this summer, moving up to No. 34 in the world ranking behind a string of seven top-30 finishes since the Masters. He’s in great position to keep it going this weekend in France, thanks in part to a favorable ruling during Friday’s second round. 

Pieters was playing the third hole of his second round when he lined up a lengthy birdie putt across the green. Sky Sports labeled the distance at around 40 feet, longer than the Belgian had probably wished for on the tee box, it being a par-5. Nothing abnormal yet. 

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But once Pieters began to take his putter away, there was a cough. At least an alleged cough. You can’t hear it on the broadcast, but for the moment we’ll allow it to exist. Pieters took his putter back, reached the top of his stroke, and then started down toward the ball. Right before he made contact, he wanted to stop. 

We’ve seen something similar to this happen before, most famously with Tiger Woods who has halted his powerful driver swing after hearing the click of a camera shutter. But a putting stroke feels different. 

Pieters’ stroke didn’t stop in time to keep the putter head from colliding with the ball, but the contact tells a pretty obvious story. He was not committed to finishing that stroke, to hitting that ball. He looked up immediately, leaving his group in a state of confusion. “Never ever seen that before,” the broadcaster said. “Yeah he tried to stop it, didn’t he,” another commentator replied, “but the scorers, the marshals, the gallery — they look as mystified as we do.”

Add us to that list of mystified folks who haven’t seen anything like it before. At least not in a professional event on television. Thankfully, Sky Sports was rolling long enough through Pieters’ ruling for us to earn an explanation. 

“I was over the ball, and went back, and the kid coughed,” Pieters explained. “I went to stop but I didn’t and I hit the ball.” Basically, he was in the middle of stopping when his putter head made contact with the ball, which he didn’t intend to do. And as an astute man of the Rules, Pieters knew that unless there was direct intention to hit the ball, he should be able to replay from the initial spot without penalty. 

The only issue was the first Rules official wasn’t convinced and called in a second opinion. 

“You had no intention of hitting the ball,” Pieters was asked. “No,” he replied, and when he informed the official that this happened while he was on the putting green, the official concluded, “No penalty, and you replace your ball.” 

It is under the loose interpretation of the word “accidentally” where Pieters is allowed to get this ruling. According to Rule 13.1d, “there is no penalty for accidentally causing a ball to move.” And Pieters is clear that he did not intend to make the ball go forward once he decided that the coughing patron was a distraction. Therefore, the rest of his stroke was an accident, even if just a moment earlier it was not an accident at all when he drew the club away from the ball. You are forgiven if you are confused, but we can all trust in the result of the accidental putt. It went all of four feet when it was supposed to go about 40. That tells us everything we needed to know. 

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The post Pro jogs up 18th fairway to finish round in less than 2 hours appeared first on Golf.

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The post ‘For Sale’: Pro posts plea for sponsor on his golf bag… in three languages appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘For Sale’: Pro posts plea for sponsor on his golf bag… in three languages appeared first on Golf.

Do you own a company with interest in raising your brand awareness on a global stage? Well European Tour pro Thomas Pieters has the perfect opportunity for you, and he’s not hiding it.

At this week’s Maybank Malaysia Championship, Pieters was spotted with a truly unusual sign on his golf bag, one that might be the first-of-its-kind.

On the front of his lime-green Callaway tour bag are three rectangular patches with the same message written in three different languages: FOR SALE.

Tournaments

Former European Ryder Cupper Thomas Pieters lays into U.S. fans: ‘Americans can’t drink’

Golf instructor Jamie Gough noticed the odd sign and decided to post a photo of it to Twitter, which you can see here.

The best piece of marketing I’ve seen in a while! @EuropeanTour @Thomas_Pieters @maybankchampion pic.twitter.com/cb3UuhLOYV

— Jamie Gough (@jamiegoughgolf) March 19, 2019

It turns out that the 27-year-old pro, who has three European Tour wins on his resume, is currently without a bag sponsor. For the past 18 months, Pieters has used the space on his bag to promote things of personal interest to him, according to Bunkered.

Now, though, Pieters would like a paying sponsor, thank you very much. The three languages featured in his plea are English, Dutch and Japanese.

This isn’t actually the first time Pieters has employed his creative strategy. Photographers captured his ‘For Sale’ golf bag two weeks ago at the Qatar Masters.

Thomas Pieters and his golf bag featuring 'For Sale' signs at the 2019 Qatar Masters.

Getty Images

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I’m no marketing expert, but this seems like a great opportunity for a new company wanting to make a name for themselves. Despite being ranked No. 81 in the World, Pieters is a genuine talent who could have a career breakthrough at any time.

In addition to his three wins on the European Tour, Pieters played on the 2016 European Ryder Cup team and has performed very well at majors in the past. He finished T28 at last year’s British Open and T6 shortly thereafter at the PGA Championship.

His best career finish at a major is a T4 at the 2017 Masters.

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The post Wall-to-Wall Equipment: Mickelson’s prototype putter, Tour pro wins with iron covers and more appeared first on Golf.

The post Wall-to-Wall Equipment: Mickelson’s prototype putter, Tour pro wins with iron covers and more appeared first on Golf.

It took what felt like an eternity for Phil Mickelson — and Tiger Woods, for that matter — to make a putt of any significance during The Match, but when it mattered during extra holes, it was the 48-year-old left-hander who converted a four-footer for birdie, on the 22nd hole, to walk away with $9 million under the lights in Las Vegas.

Mickelson opted to stick with the same equipment setup he used in Napa, including the 34-inch Odyssey “Stroke Lab Nine” prototype putter that bumped his Versa #9 (White-Black-White) from the bag.

When comparing Mickelson’s prototype to his previous gamer, there are a few noticeable differences — namely the two adjustable sole weights and a prototype shaft that reportedly helped Mickelson improve the consistency of his putting stroke.

You may also like Tour Confidential: Why The Match worked (and why it didn’t)

The shaft appears to be a blend of steel and carbon fiber, two materials that have been used by other manufacturers in the past for putter shafts, most recently with Barney Adams’ Breakthrough Golf Technology Stability shaft. What remains to be seen is how it differs from the competition.

Mickelson also chose to go with an insert that hasn’t been seen on other Stroke Lab putters spotted on Tour. The heel-shafted version Danny Willett used to win in Dubai featured Odyssey’s White Hot Microhinge insert; Mickelson’s had what looked to be a more traditional White Hot version.

GET FIT FOR CUSTOM GOLF CLUBS TO TRANSFORM YOUR GAME TODAY

To the winner goes the…iron covers? On Sunday at the Hong Kong Open, Aaron Rai logged his maiden European Tour victory with arguably one of the most bizarre sights in the bag for a professional golfer: Iron covers. Normally reserved for the mid- to high-handicapper who doesn’t want to ding his new sticks, Rai chose to keep his TaylorMade Tour Preferred MB irons hidden under a set of TaylorMade covers.

Aaron Rai won the Hong Kong Open with iron headcovers and a putter cover that’s seen its fair share of battles. ? pic.twitter.com/t4Mi72EvPB

— Jonathan Wall (@jonathanrwall) November 25, 2018

For those hoping to procure a set of Rai’s covers online, they can actually be had for a reasonable price. A recent eBay search turned up a set that went for $23 dollars on the open market. So if you’re into filling your bag with gear the pros play, here’s your chance to do it for less than a few sleeves of balls.

You’re golden, Tiger: Tiger Woods missed out on a massive payday at Shadow Creek but still managed to make headlines while wearing a custom pair of black and gold Nike golf shoes that had social media buzzing during the match.

Big Cat’s kicks are spectacular. pic.twitter.com/ae0oLgrBFK

— Jonathan Wall (@jonathanrwall) November 23, 2018

Woods noted during the broadcast that the gold accents and sole were a nod to the Vegas Golden Knights hockey team, who advanced to the Stanley Cup finals in their first season as an expansion franchise. Along with being the team’s colors, gold just happens to be synonymous with Las Vegas, where the match was contested.

While the shoes popped on television, it’s unlikely Nike will release an identical version of Woods’ Air Zoom TW71 kicks for public consumption.

Second time’s the charm for Pieters: Professional golfers and amateurs have different definitions for success and failure. Thomas Pieters finished T12 during the European Tour’s season-ending event while using an Odyssey O-Works #1 Wide for the first time, but the respectable showing wasn’t enough to keep the new flat stick from getting the hook a week later at the World Cup of Golf.

Instead, Pieters chose to employ a traditional Anser-style Toulon Austin blade with the same multi-material shaft Phil Mickelson and Danny Willett are using at the moment.

The new shaft/head combo played a critical role on the back nine during the final round, where Pieters made an important par save just after the turn on 10, and followed it up with a birdie on 11 that shifted the moment in favor of the Belgian squad.

“When Thomas made the putt on hole No. 10 and the birdie he made on 11, those two putts were massive,” said teammate Thomas Detry. “I think that was the key moment because there it could easily go — I mean, 11 is one of the toughest holes on the course. 10, it was a sliding putt, not easy, so we could have easily gone bogey, bogey and we went par, birdie.”

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The post Former European Ryder Cupper Thomas Pieters lays into U.S. fans: ‘Americans can’t drink’ appeared first on Golf.

The post Former European Ryder Cupper Thomas Pieters lays into U.S. fans: ‘Americans can’t drink’ appeared first on Golf.

In 2016, European Ryder Cup rookie Thomas Pieters put himself on the international golf map, winning four points in five matches during a 17-11 U.S. victory. Despite some pleas for his inclusion as a captain’s pick, the 26-year-old Belgian won’t be on this year’s squad, but that didn’t keep him from letting loose a series of Ryder Cup takes in an interview with bunkered this week.

Pieters, ever a fiery on-course presence (we last checked in with him after he snapped his putter in two) apparently didn’t think much of the setup at Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minn., nor of the American fans heckling from beyond the ropes.

You may also like WATCH: Thomas Pieters snaps his putter in two after ugly quadruple-bogey 9 at the European Masters

“For me, it wasn’t that bad because they didn’t know who I was,” he said of the spectators. “They didn’t have any dirt on me or anything like that. But for Rory, yeah, it was pretty hostile. They shouted stuff at him that you shouldn’t shout at anybody anywhere.”

Nor could Pieters resist a jab at the Minnesota faithful and their tolerance for alcohol. “Maybe that’s because they sell beer at 7am and Americans can’t drink,” he said. “But to be honest, you don’t really hear the words most of the time. It’s just a big wall of noise.”

As for Hazeltine itself? “The set-up of the course was ridiculous. You could hit it anywhere.”

Pieters included U.S. stalwart Phil Mickelson in his critiques, too. “He was sometimes hitting it, like, six fairways left or right but was still able to get it on the green and then make a 40-footer. I didn’t think it was a great Ryder Cup set-up, to be honest.”

You can read more of the Pieters interview here.

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The post WATCH: Thomas Pieters snaps his putter in two after ugly quadruple-bogey 9 at the European Masters appeared first on Golf.

The post WATCH: Thomas Pieters snaps his putter in two after ugly quadruple-bogey 9 at the European Masters appeared first on Golf.

It has not been a good week for Thomas Pieters, and his putter paid the ultimate price.

Pieters missed out on a Ryder Cup spot when on Wednesday Europe’s captain, Thomas Bjorn, selected four veterans with his captain’s picks. Then, after a solid opening round at the Omega European Masters, Pieters shot a disastrous 77 on Friday.

The primary contributor to his poor score at Crans-sur-Sierre GC in Switzerland was a crooked number on the par-5 14th hole. A very crooked number.

Pieters’ second shot found a water hazard, and eventually he was left with a 4-footer for triple bogey. But the three-time Euro tour champion pushed his putt, missing it to the right.

You may also like WATCH: John Peterson, fighting for Tour card, snaps putter over knee

After quickly knocking his next one in for a shocking quadruple-bogey 9, he calmly walked off the green. Then suddenly, he grabbed his putter with both hands and brought it smashing down across his knee, snapping the shaft in two.

Watch the moment below (and be sure to stick around until the end of the video).

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The post WATCH: Thomas Pieters snaps club over his own neck in fit of rage appeared first on Golf.

The post WATCH: Thomas Pieters snaps club over his own neck in fit of rage appeared first on Golf.

Thomas Pieters is known to be a strong man. He’s also known to show off a bit of a temper on the golf course. Combine the two and you have potential for the incredible, which is exactly what happened Friday.

Pieters was five over at the BMW PGA Championship and, as you’ll see, clearly upset with himself. After lashing at his second shot from the rough on the par-5 4th hole at Wentworth Club, Pieters snapped his club in half over the back of his neck.

Yes, you read that correctly: over the back of his neck.

thomas pieters has a very strong neck pic.twitter.com/wpvywKYBta

— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) May 25, 2018

The only appropriate question to ask here is “How?” Pieters is above-average in swing speed. You can guarantee this is a very stiff shaft, and yet he snaps it like it’s a toothpick. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. This is hardly the first time Pieters has snapped a club in a fit of rage.

Thomas Pieters is UPSET. pic.twitter.com/4h6JTRGZmP

— Adam Sarson (@Adam_Sarson) July 17, 2016

Also, the 2017 French Open:

I guess if we’ve learned anything it’s that when Pieters disagrees with the results of his play, no piece of equipment is off limits.

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The post Expert Picks: WGC-Mexico appeared first on Golf.

The post Expert Picks: WGC-Mexico appeared first on Golf.

Sean Zak and Ryan Asselta offer their fantasy golf picks for this week’s WGC-Mexico.

Sean Zak and Ryan Asselta offer their fantasy golf picks for this week’s WGC-Mexico.

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