TheRules
Honesty Above All
Defying the spirit of the game landed one PGA Tour Pro in hot water in 2024
By CHRIS LANG
During the second round of last November ’ s World Wide Technology Championship on the PGA Tour , Emilio Gonzalez made a serious error , and it came with serious consequences .
The setup : On the 15th hole , Gonzalez — a Mexican pro playing in his home country — watched as his tee shot veered into a desert area . To be safe , he hit a provisional ball that settled on the fairway .
Gonzalez had three minutes to find and identify his original ball . While a ball was spotted in the desert area , he didn ’ t make “ reasonable efforts ” to identify it and proceeded to play the provisional ball . He made a bogey on the hole , finished the round and signed for a 71 .
Afterward , the situation on the 15th hole came to light — and that ’ s where Gonzalez got into trouble .
Let ’ s start with the definition of a provisional ball , as outlined in The Rules of Golf :
Another ball played in case the ball just played by the player may be :
• Out of bounds , or
• Lost outside a penalty area
A provisional ball is not the player ’ s ball in play , unless it becomes the ball in play under Rule 18.3c .
Emilio Gonzalez
When the ball believed to be the original was spotted , Gonzalez was required to make a reasonable effort to identify it , since it was discovered within the three-minute timeframe allowed for a ball search .
From Rule 18.3c : “ If the provisional ball has not become the ball in play and a ball is found that might be the original ball , the player must make all reasonable efforts to identify the ball . If the player fails to do so , the Committee may disqualify the player under Rule 1.2a if it decides that this was serious misconduct contrary to the spirit of the game .”
And that ’ s exactly what happened . The Committee deemed the infraction serious enough to disqualify Gonzalez from the competition . ( He would have missed the cut by two strokes anyway .)
Rule 1.2a covers a range of actions that are likely to be considered serious misconduct . Clarification 1.2a / 1 provides examples , and the final bullet point reads : “ refusing to identify a found ball that might be the player ’ s ball .”
The Committee determined that Gonzalez ’ s actions on the 15th hole violated the spirit of fair competition , and disqualification was deemed the appropriate consequence .
There have been other instances of players being disqualified for “ serious misconduct .” In 2019 , Sergio Garcia was disqualified from the Saudi International after intentionally damaging several greens during a round . Players behind Garcia alerted the Committee to the damage , which led to a post-round meeting and Garcia ’ s eventual disqualification .
Other ways a player may violate Rule
1.2a include :
• Disagreeing with the course setup and taking it upon themselves to move tee-markers or boundary stakes .
• Endangering the safety of others , such as by throwing a club at another player or spectator .
• Deliberately distracting other players while they are making strokes .
• Removing loose impediments or movable obstructions to disadvantage another player after that other player has asked them to leave them in place .
• Repeatedly refusing to lift a ball at rest when it interferes with another player in stroke play .
• Deliberately playing away from the hole and then towards the hole to assist the player ’ s partner ( perhaps helping their partner learn the break on the putting green ).
• Deliberately not playing in accordance with the Rules and potentially gaining a significant advantage by doing so , despite incurring a penalty for a breach of the relevant Rule .
• Repeatedly using vulgar or offensive language .
• Using a handicap that has been established for the purpose of providing an unfair advantage or using the round being played to establish such a handicap .
Rule 1.2a is designed to ensure fair competition and protect the integrity of the field — an important lesson Gonzalez won ’ t soon forget .
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