Jon Rahm’s ground ball decision highlights the referee’s gray area

JOHANNESBURG – When Jon Rahm found his opening tee shot hard left in the third round of the LIV South Africahe called a rules official to confirm that his ball had entered his spot on the court, a scenario in which the rules would grant him free relief.

The official, Grover Walker, who has three decades of umpiring experience for the USGA, arrived and, in short order, agreed with Rahm and Rahm staffer Adam Hayes: the ball was embedded. Hayes noted that it was “beyond the root system.”

No wonder the ball was locked. The clubhouse in Steyn City has been flooded with rain this week and Rahm had attempted to drive the green, about 330 meters away on a hole with more than 100 meters of vertical drop. His shot landed in a low area not far from a creek bed. Just moments before Rahm let his ball fly, his playing partner Dean Burmester’s ball had also been plugged, albeit in the fairway.

Less clear, however, was whether Rahm’s ball had gone in own tar mark, which is a request for relief.

The LIV broadcast seemed to show something different: Rahm’s swing hit the ground and bounced forward about two feet in the air before disappearing into the thick Kikuyu beam. Could the ball have landed in another player’s court spot, unbeknownst to everyone on the ground? Absolutely. Height signs do not have initials. Could the ball, after the boundary, have sunk into it the second tar mark? This is possible, but much less likely. Complicating matters further was that Rahm, given his obscured vantage point off the tee, couldn’t see his ball land, meaning all he could do was exactly what he did: evaluate his lie as he found it and follow the umpire’s instructions.

LIV Golf released a brief statement on the decision:

“At the start of round 3, Jon Rahm’s tee shot on hole 1 stopped short. Rahm sought the advice of an umpire to see if his ball was stuck. After consulting with the umpire, it was determined that the ball was stuck and he took relief before hitting his second shot.

“Under Rule 16.3, a bouncing ball may still be put into its spot on the court and does not automatically negate the possibility of relief.”

LIV’s rules officials come from across the golf industry – with experience overseeing USGA, LPGA and state golf association events. They are authorized to rely on LIV’s “Any Shot, Any Time” replay technology to gain more information than may be available at the scene of a decision, but only do so when there is question or uncertainty about a decision. If there is no doubt, the official makes the call and the group continues. In this case, Rahm and Walker agreed on what most likely happened, as did Brett Rumford, the band’s walk-on broadcaster.

WHEREAS The Rules of Golf are largely airtight, there is still gray area and need for judgement, especially on a wet course. Replay casts doubt on whether Rahm’s ball hit his mark, but how quickly could that information have been relayed to the rules official? It doesn’t take much for a ball to be considered “embedded,” like evidenced by this diagram from the USGA. Also, eyewitnesses were scarce given that Rahm’s ball landed on the far side of the hole, perhaps 70 yards from any fans.

While Rahm was making his decision, LIV commentator David Feherty reviewed a replay on the air and offered his assessment.

“Ah, no, that didn’t get buried,” Feherty told his cabin mate Nico Colsaerts. “Interesting, Nico, that he’s getting a drop there. That ball definitely looked like it was buried, and he can do that on this Kikuyu grass.”

“Yes, but the referee stands”, said Colsaerts. “He’s the one who makes the decision.”

After getting his relief, Rahm got to three feet and made the backhand putt for one of his eight birdies on the day.

“I took advantage of a good break,” Feherty said.

Rahm carded a seven-under 64 on Saturday to move to 18 under for the week. He is three back of Bryson DeChambeau with 18 holes to play.