Rules blunder is costly for two PGA Tour winners in Mexico

Both Brian Campbell and Tom Kim have tee times on the weekend at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open, but not without a bit of rules drama on Friday.

Playing in the same threesome during the second round at Vidanta Vallarta, Kim and Campbell found their balls in a greenside bunker on the par-4 ninth hole, their final hole of the day. Each then proceeded to accidentally play the other’s ball.

After discovering the mistake on the green, and consulting a rules officials, each was hit with a two-stroke penalty for playing a wrong ball (Rule 6.3c(1)). They then had to return to the bunker and replay their shots. Both got up and down for double bogey to post 68s and finish the opening 36 holes at seven-under 135.

“It’s blame on both guys here,” Brendon de Jonge said during the Golf Channel broadcast. “It’s one of those things, especially if you’re in a bunker, you’ve got to pay close attention to what you’re doing. You’re looking down at the lie; you’ve got to figure it out. Which golf ball is yours? It’s really a mistake you cannot afford to make.”

Again, both players were well within the four-under 138 cutline, so the penalties weren’t as painful as they could have be. Campbell, however, is playing in his first start since the Wyndham Championship in August and trying to defend his title in Mexico and now sits seven shots off the lead. (He’s also getting married next week.) Kim, meanwhile, is playing in his PGA Tour tournament since winning a gold medal at the Asian Games and earning an exemption from military service in South Korea.

For rules geeks out there, it’s also important to note that the players did go back and correct their mistakes on the course before finishing the hole. Had they simple played out on the green and then discovered they had played the wrong balls while in the scoring area signing their cards, they would have both been disqualified under Rule 6.3.