ANYONE WHO WATCHED THE SAT- URDAY SECOND-ROUND BROADCAST OF THE STATE OPEN OF VIRGINIA in July was privy to an interesting Rules situation featuring Mark Lawrence Jr ., who earned low professional honors , and a green-fronting bunker on the par-3 9th hole at Independence Golf Club .

It was a situation where knowing the Rules of Golf clearly played to a player ’ s advantage . The setup : Lawrence hit a 5-iron off the tee that plugged high near the face of the bunker , leaving him uncertain prospects of getting up and down to save par .

Independence ’ s Better Billy Bunkers feature a gravel lining at the base of the bunker . When Lawrence entered the bunker and dug in to take a reasonable stance to hit his shot , his right foot kept sliding on that lining . Lawrence stepped away from the ball and called for a Rules official to go through his relief options .

Much like a cart path , the gravel bunker lining is considered an immovable obstruction , therefore , Lawrence was entitled

to free relief inside the bunker under Rule 16.1c because he was unable to take his regular stance to hit the ball .

Under Rule 16.1c , the player may take free relief , except that a ) the nearest point of complete relief and the relief area must be in the bunker ; and b ) if there is no such nearest point of complete relief in the bunker , the player may still take this relief by using the point of maximum available relief in the bunker as the reference point .

( For a more detailed explanation of nearest point of complete relief , please consult the definitions section of the Rules of Golf .)

The bunker was large enough to allow Lawrence to find the nearest point of complete relief , which was to the right and behind the original ball spot . Once he was able to take his proper stance , Lawrence got out of the bunker and hit a 10-foot putt for a key par that kept him near the top of the leaderboard .

There is another relief option in that situation that involves back-of-the-line relief that takes the ball out of the bunker ,

Mark Lawrence Jr . shows Rules official Bert Wilson that he is unable to get a proper stance in the bunker on No . 9 at Independence Golf Club .

but using that option will cost the player a penalty stroke .

It should be noted that two PGA Tour players — Charley Hoffman and Branden Grace — benefited from similar rulings in recent years . Because of that , in 2018 , the PGA Tour decided to invoke a Local Rule ( now known at Local Rule F-6 ), prohibiting relief from an abnormal course condition when only stance interference exists . The VSGA does not use that Local Rule on its hard card for competitions .

Lawrence ’ s knowledge of the Rules helped in this situation , and it showed why it ’ s so important for tournament players to have at least a basic understanding of the Rules before playing in a competition . It may be the difference between holding a trophy at the end of the competition or wondering , ‘ what if ?’

CHRIS LANG