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Like any savvy patient who gets a bad diagnosis, Sam Burns wanted a second opinion. When his drive on Oakmont’s par-4 15th hole stayed on the fairway next to the first cut, he seemed to catch a good break. But when Burns arrived at the ball, it looked and felt to him that it was sitting in standing water from the day’s earlier heavy rainstorm.
Tied for the lead at one over at the time, Burns asked for an official to take a look. The verdict: There was not enough “temporary water”—the updated phrase used in the Rules of Golf—to allow Burns to take a drop. As noted in the rules, “It is not enough for the ground to be merely wet, muddy or soft or for the water to be momentarily visible as the player steps on the ground; an accumulation of water must remain present either before or after the stance is taken.”
Burns, 28 and a five-time tour winner, wasn’t happy with the decision and, as if to make his point, kept taking practice swings that clearly splashed water up. Not convinced about the call, he requested a second ruling. Another official arrived, and after Burns made his case, the answer was the same: Play it as it lies.
Asked about the situation after his round, Burns said, “That fairway slopes left to right. That’s kind of the low part of the fairway there. When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up. Took practice swings and it’s just water splashing every single time. Called a rules official over, they disagreed. I looked at it again. I thought maybe I should get a second opinion. That rules official also disagreed. At the end of the day, it’s not up to me, it’s up to the rules official. That’s kind of that.”
https://twitter.com/NUCLRGOLF/status/1934394347442647300
A fair call? It certainly seemed questionable, given how much “temporary water” there was throughout the course—in addition to possibly deciding a player’s championship fate on a ruling that might have gone either way. And it becomes even more suspect when we see the video posted on X by reporter Kyle Porter.
https://twitter.com/KylePorterNS/status/1934393989123146031
Clearly, Burns was rattled as he lined up his 200-yard approach, and, with a big splash, pulled his shot into the rough. Burns took a few more swipes at the soaked grass, turned to his caddie and said, “That’s ridiculous.”
Burns would end up with a double bogey at 15, then dropped another shot at 16, birdied 17 and bogeyed 18 to shoot 78. He finished at four over and T-7, five shots behind champion J.J. Spaun.
The loss will no doubt be painful, and there probably is little consolation that respected observers thought he was wronged.
“Sam Burns was affected the worst by the delay,” NBC commentator Brad Faxon said. “And got maybe one of the worst breaks not being able to move that ball on 15. He should have been able to take relief from there. That’s a bad call.”
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Main Image: Andy Lyons
