But neither did because in the final stretches , both tournaments were decided because a player grounded a club in a bunker and was assessed the twostroke general penalty that comes with the action .

In normal play at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin , the various sand waste areas on the course are considered in the general area , meaning a player is allowed to ground a club in the sand in those areas . But the week of the PGA Championship , the committee declared all sandy areas to be bunkers , meaning the waste areas were subject to the specific rules laid out for playing out of bunkers .

Dustin Johnson grounded his club in one of those waste areas before taking a shot , leading to a costly penalty .

In the U . S . Women ’ s Open in a 3-hole aggregate playoff between Brittany Lang and Anna Nordqvist , on the 17th hole , a zoomed in camera angle showed that Nordqvist moved sand in her backswing , and she was assessed a two-stroke penalty for the infraction .

Most golfers know they can ’ t ground their club in the bunker in preparation of making a stroke , but what exactly does that mean , and when can you touch the sand with your club ? Rule 12.2 covers playing a ball in the bunker and what

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