Rules Query

[SGC001]

I found the interpretation of this rule at the recent US Open quite perplexing. I can remeber Dustin Johnson, smashing it into a hazard on the front 9, everybody knew it was in, everybody was looking in the hazard, TV cameras showed it going in and it was obvious it wasn't not in the hazard (as it would be easily found) and he had to play 3 off the tee because they didn't find it inside of 5 mins.

Yet Tiger and others knocked it in the sea which was marked with red stakes and didn't have to find it.

A basic scientific method of elimination would show Dustins ball was in the hazard, surely that should have been enough for the rules boys.

 

[Fyldewhite]

It has to be "known" or "virtually certain" to be treated as in the hazard. This can be ambiguous but the wording is supposed to allow for common sense to prevail.

If you hit towards a water hazard and when you get to where the ball went in it is clear that there is no way the ball can be anywhere else because the whole area around is cut short then yes it could conceivably have gone down some sort of hole but it is virtually certain to be in the hazard and can be treated as such. If there is rough ground in the area and maybe longer grass you cannot draw that assumption so must treat as lost.

 

[SGC001]

That's my understanding of the rule:

So what was happening at the US Open (if you saw it). In addition to Dustin I saw Ernie on about 8/9 or 10 looking for his ball 30 yards off the fairway in the hazard that went down to the sea. If it wasn't on the fairway it was in the hazard (It pretty much went fairway, hazard). Why did he need to find it? Did he find it? I switched off thenas I thought it was a farce.

 

[The_LHC]

If you're talking about the hazard that was in fact the beach that ran all the way along the side of several of the holes then Ernie was probably looking for his ball because it was usually perfectly possible to play the ball from where it was, in the hazard.

 

[SGC001]

True: I'm sure it would be playable.

The commentators were saying that if it wasn't found it'd be lost. They could have been talking rubbish, but considering what happenened to Dustin it's unlikley. I'd certainly spend my 5mins looking for it in the hazard, but I wouldn't have been going back to the tee to hit a 3rd.