Wyndham Clark disputes ambiguous fairway rules at Arnold Palmer Invitational
During the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Wyndham Clark encountered a rules situation that sparked discussion about golf's embedded ball rule. The incident occurred on the par-4 3rd hole at Bay Hill, where Clark's tee shot landed in the fairway.
Initial confusion arose when television cameras showed Clark taking a free drop after marking his ball. This would only be legal if the ball had come to rest in its own pitch mark. PGA Tour's director of rules and video, Rich Pierson, initially stated that Clark's ball had rolled into someone else's pitch mark - which would have resulted in a penalty.
However, after reviewing ShotLink cameras and television footage, officials confirmed that Clark's ball did land in its own pitch mark, making the drop legal and avoiding any penalties.
alt text
Speaking at the Players Championship Wednesday, Clark expressed frustration with the rule's complexity: "From 300 yards away, we didn't see the ball bounce. We get up there and it's plugged. How was I supposed to know? If I did get stroked, how is that my fault when no one told me that I rolled into someone else's pitch mark?"
Clark added, "That's one of those rules in golf where it's like, why are we making this so complicated... We just walked up, ball was plugged, took an embedded ball rule."
The incident had no impact on Clark's tournament outcome, as he finished tied for 22nd at even par. He's scheduled to begin his Players Championship first round at 8:46 a.m. ET on Thursday, playing alongside Jason Day and Jordan Spieth.