Lee Hodges infamous PGA Championship putt in 2023 earned him a one-stroke penalty and still divides golf.
Some feel that he was within his rights to wait for the ball to drop, while others insist that delaying the game is unacceptable.
The officials lost their patience, but Hodges didn’t.
A professional golfer on the PGA Tour is only allowed to technically leave his ball on the cup’s edge for 10 seconds before needing to use an additional stroke to knock it in.
Before the 10-second clock begins, a player and their playing partner may decide on a “reasonable” period of time.
At the PGA Championship Hodges and Jordan Spieth were partnered, and that rule was put to the test during a crazy putt for par on the 17th green.
On his putt, Hodges hit it right on the perfect line, but the ball stayed on the lip hovering over the edge for a total of 35 seconds. It eventually decided to succumb to gravity and drop into the cup to a big cheer by officials weren’t pleased.
The PGA Championship Rules Committee issued the following statement:
“During play of the 17th hole, Hodges played his first putt to the edge of the hole and after having walked up to the hole, behind his ball, he then waited more than 10 seconds. The ball then fell into the hole, after the 10-second limit provided for in the Rule. As a result, Hodges received a one-stroke penalty, under Rule 13.3a, and the ball was holed.”
According to Rule 13.3.a, when a golf ball is overhanging the hole:
“The player is allowed a reasonable time to reach the hole and ten more seconds to wait to see whether the ball will fall into the hole.
If the ball falls into the hole in this waiting time, the player has holed out with the previous stroke.
If the ball does not fall into the hole in this waiting time:
The ball is treated as being at rest.
If the ball then falls into the hole before it is played, the player has holed out with the previous stroke, but gets one penalty stroke added to the score for the hole.”
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