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Patrick Reed insisted that he made a “textbook” call and felt “great” after being involved in another rules controversy at the Farmers Insurance Open.
eed profited from a controversial failure at par four 10 at Torrey Pines when he threw a 190-yard shot from a bunker, with a television replay showing the ball bouncing once before settling in the rough.
Believing the ball was not bouncing, Reed lifted it to see if it was embedded before a rules official arrived.
The American Ryder Cup star, who was penalized two strokes for appearing to deliberately improve his lie in a bunker at Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in December 2019, received a free fall and a save pair.
“The ball just disappeared. None of us saw it bounce, ”Reed told The Golf Channel, adding that a nearby volunteer also said it didn’t bounce.
“I looked at my group and said, ‘Guys, she didn’t see it bounce either, so I’m going to mark this ball and see if it’s embedded.’
“Once I marked it, the first thing I wanted to do was make sure I got the ball out of my hand because you don’t want to clean it or anything because you don’t know if it’s embedded yet.
“When I put my finger there and felt like the ground was broken, the first thing you do is call the rules officer. The rules officer said, ‘Yes, there is an edge here, it definitely broke the plane.’
“It’s an embedded ball, you get the length of a club and you throw a drop, and at that point we did exactly what we were supposed to do.”
Reed said he was approached by the rules officer later after completing his round of two-under-70.
“He pulled out his phone and shows us the video,” Reed said. “He said ‘I just want you to know that what you did here in the whole procedure was a textbook, it was perfect.’
“It’s an unfortunate situation, obviously… but when they tell you that you did it perfectly, you did it exactly the right way, the protocols you did were spot on, at the time, you know, I feel really good about it.
“It happened that the ball bounced, but since no one in the whole group or the volunteer saw it bounce, we were able to take relief.
“If someone had seen the video or seen the ball bounce, they obviously would not have marked the ball or tried to call for an embedded ball.”
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland watches his tee shot on the first hole of the South Course during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines on Saturday, Jan.30, 2021, in San Diego. (AP Photo / Gregory Bull)
PGA Tour rules official John Mutch said Reed acted within the rules after he was told his ball was not bouncing.
Mutch said: “He did nothing wrong. He marked it, picked it up and asked for a ruling. “
The incident on the 10th seemed to affect Reed when he made four bogeys in the last nine.
But a birdie on 18 gave him part of the lead with Mexican Carlos Ortiz, who loaded a 66, heading into the final round off the Californian coast.
Jon Rahm and Adam Scott are in a five-man group two shots back, with Rory McIlroy one shot further back at seven under.
PA media
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