An odd thing happened at the Presidents Cup on Friday but even more surprising was the way American golfer
Phil Mickelson and his captain Jay Haas handled the goof up.
After making what Mickelson himself referred to as a “rookie mistake,” he and team mate
Zach Johnson found themselves effectively losing the 7th hole twice thanks to an error by the rules committee.
Starting out the hole all square against
Jason Day and
Adam Scott, Mickelson teed off using a different model golf ball then the one he began the 4-ball match with. Realising he might be in violation, the Callaway player quickly consulted the rules official on the hole who advised Mickelson the 1-ball rule was in effect. He was promptly disqualified from finishing the hole as well as given a one-hole adjustment.
Picking up his ball, Mickelson’s team mate was forced to go it alone, losing the hole when Day made birdie. Day’s win combined with the already given one-hole adjustment meant Mickelson and Johnson were now 2-down against their international opponents.
So technically the Americans lost the 7th hole twice – a result even other professional golfers were confused by.
Turns out the rules official got it wrong! Mickelson should have in fact been allowed to finish the hole, with an “adjustment to the state of the match” being applied afterwards.
Despite the confusion the American Team handled the incident with class. Taking the mix up in their stride and not allowing it to ruin the focus needed to finish off the day. For his part, Mickelson took full responsibility telling reporters afterwards, “It’s the player’s responsibility to know the rules.”
His captain Jay Haas firmly agreed stating, “Phil made a huge mental error, and then they [the rule officials] compounded it a little bit.”
But Haas quickly added, “But if he hadn’t been speeding, he wouldn’t have got a ticket. So I don’t have a problem with it.”
Looking for proof the incident didn’t rattle the veteran Mickelson? Check out his insane hole-out from a bunker for eagle just 5 holes later. Now that’s class…
