Charlotte- After the US’s decision, there was a slight mud-making from some top players in the world on Thursday that the balls should be played during the first round of the PGA Championship.
Even after the recent rains with the quail hollow club, even in the middle of the Fairway, the lie left the mud from the golf balls, causing some stray shots.
“This is one of the deals where it is disappointing to hit the ball in the middle of the fair and to get mud on it and don’t know where it is going to go,” said Scotty Sheffer, a player living in the world. “I think it is part of the game, but there is nothing more disappointing for a player.
“You spend your whole life in an attempt to learn to control a golf ball, and due to the decision of a rule, suddenly you have no control on that golf ball. But I don’t make a rule. I just have to deal with the results of those rules.”
Scheffler still managed to fashion 2-under-Burbar 69 in the first round despite the double-bogie 6 on the 16th hole. With the mud accumulating on his ball, his approach to green found water.
PGA Championship winner Xander Schaffele, while defending the mud on his ball, got trouble at 16. He hit a double bogie before ending a 1-over 72 and hit a shot in water from the fair.
“I am not the only man. I’m just in front of the camera,” Shoffel said about his disappointment that the players were not allowed to clean the golf balls with mud at them. “I do not want to go to the locker room because I am sure many people are not super happy with the situation there. I think the grass is very good, there is no real advantage to clean your ball in Fairway.”
A lift-clean-end-place rule is not uncommon during regular PGA tour events. But this rule is not given so easily in major tournaments.
“When you think about the pure testing of golf, I personally don’t think that you should punish the ball in the middle of the Fairway,” said the chefler. “On a golf course, as it is one, it is probably a situation in which there will be a minimum difference in playing it because you are really good that you exit here.”
Schaffele essentially stated that a shot at the center of the Fairway was the same for taking punishment when mud on the ball.
“It is useless that when you kill Fairway you are like 50/50,” said Shoffel.
And was unfortunate as the 16th hole, on Thursday for both Chefler and Shoffel, mud issues are expected to be worse, even if it does not rain. As the course dries up, instead of collecting the mud wet dirt, the ball will become flakes on the ball, which the players are working with now.
“I don’t know, maybe it is slightly reduced from T, but then unfortunately the problem with beating it less than T is that the ball takes anywhere or does not roll, so you sacrifice the distance,” Shofel said, considering their options in the weekend, said. “This is a bit of a nonsense.”
-Bield level media
