Rules of Golf
Tour pro gets ridiculously good Rules break after hitting into 'animal hole' at the Black Desert Championship
Christian Petersen
Death, taxes and PGA Tour professionals using the Rules of Golf to their advantage … sometimes questionably so.
Last week, it was Beau Hossler on the 72nd hole at the Sanderson Farms Championship, where he tried to argue for TIO relief after hitting his ball directly behind a tree. In a rare twist, the rules officials Hossler called upon weren't having it.
Four days later, at the Black Desert Championship in Utah, former John Deere Classic winner Michael Kim pulled his drive well down the left side of the par-5 18th at Black Desert Resort Golf Course. Kim's ball was in what's called the native area among some lava rocks and vegetation, not to mention all sorts of creepy crawlers in the desert. So he reloaded with a provisional ball and also hit that one into the native area. Suddenly, what should be a relatively easy par 5 for a tour pro was turning into a potentially very big number for Kim.
The good news, though, was that they were able to to find Kim's first ball, which appeared to be in an impossible-to-hit-from spot in some sort of hole. A clear unplayable situation, which comes with a one-stroke penalty and three relief options (which can be viewed here), the most common among them a drop two club-lengths no closer to the hole.
Kim being the savvy veteran that he is, however, knew that there was a rule that could be employed here that could potentially get him free relief: Rule 16.1, which grants players free relief from "Abnormal Course Conditions," including animal holes.
Kim called over a rules official and they came to an agreement that this was, in fact, an animal hole. This meant Kim would get a free drop, but he wasn't done. After being granted a free drop at the nearest point of relief, Kim's caddie then asked if they were allowed to move some rocks, to which the rules official replied "yes, if they are loose." Kim then picked up a rather large rock that caused PGA Tour Live commentator Matt Every to say "I don't know about that ... "
Eventually, Kim punched out to the fairway with his second shot, hitting his third shot to 12 feet and making a par. Not surprisingly, that didn't sit right with a lot of folks on social media, not that Kim cares in the slightest. Watch how the entire situation unfolded below:
If rules officials never push back on this stuff, you can't blame the players for doing everything they can to use the rules to their advantage. It's a good job by Kim, who made an easy par after looking like he might make a snowman, or higher. Kim wound up finishing with a three-under 68 to keep himself in the tournament.
Kim tweeted after the round indicating he was keenly aware of how lucky the break was: