could remove a stone that was
adjacent to her ball lying in a native
area. A Rules Official advised her
that she could remove the stone
provided she did not cause her ball
to move. See Rule 23-1 [Loose
Impediments – Relief].
• One player sought assistance
from a Rules Official in taking relief
from a sprinkler head per Rule 24-2
[Immovable Obstruction].
• A Rule Official assisted a
player in determining the nearest
point of relief in taking relief from
a cart path per Rule 24-2.
• One player wanted to know
if she could remove a stone lying
adjacent to her ball in a bunker.
A Rules Official advised her that
this was permissible since a Local
Rule had been adopted stating
that stones in bunkers are movable
obstructions. Furthermore, the
Rules Official advised the player
that, if her ball moved in the process
of removing the stone, there would
be no penalty and she would be
required to replace her ball per
Rule 24-1 [Movable Obstruction].
• With her ball situated under a
tree in a native area, a player asked
a Rules Official if she could back
into an interfering tree branch
in taking her stance. The Rules
Official advised the player that
this would not constitute “fairly”
taking her stance because she was
not selecting the least intrusive way
to take her stance. See Rule 13-2
[Improving Lie, Area of Intended
Stance or Swing, or Line of Play]
and Decision 13-2/1 [Explanation
of “Fairly Taking His Stance”].
The player then decided to deem
her ball unplayable, and the Rules
Official assisted the player in taking
relief.
• One player sought confirmation
that she should play her ball from its
new position after wind had caused
her ball to move on the putting
green. See Decision 18-1/12 [Ball
Replaced and at Rest Is Thereafter
Moved by Wind].
• Rules Officials sounded the
siren for an immediate suspension
of play during Round 2 when an
electrical storm was nearing the
course. Rules Officials then assisted
with the evacuation of players,
spectators and volunteers from the
course.
• When it was determined that
there was insufficient daylight to
resume Round 2, but it was safe
to go outside, one Rules Official
transported three players, who had
played blind tee shots just before
the siren sounded, back to locate
and mark the position of their balls.
Another Rules Official assisted
a player in finding and marking
the location of her ball within
the 5-minute search period. See
Decision 27/1.5 [Time Permitted
for Search for Lost Ball if Play
Suspended During Search] which
states, “The suspension of play has
no effect on the five-minute search
period.”
• A Rules Official met with the
coaches to review the requirements
for resuming play per Rule 6-8d
[Procedure When Play Resumed].
9