Rory's "provisional" on 15th at the Open?

[SecondCor521]

OK, I'm not sure what I'm missing here.

A little bit ago, Rory Mcilroy hit his tee shot left on 15. He and the crowd were unable to find the ball. According to the NBC announcer, he hit a "provisional" ball.

But it looked to me like he hit it from the area where the ball was lost in. How does that work?

I thought a provisional would be hitting a second ball from the tee, not from the area where the ball was presumed lost.

I also thought a provisional would be hitting the second ball before searching for the lost ball, not after. (This is sort of a nit.)

Finally, I don't understand where Rory would know where to drop the provisional ball in order to get a ball back in play.

He did this in full view of everyone, including the rules officials, so I'm sure I (and possibly the NBC announcer) are missing something. Anyone know what it is?

 

[RunningBum]

I didn't see it, but maybe he hit the second tee shot in the same general area, but found that one? How much did you actually see?

 

[mickeyd]

I recall hearing mention of a provisional ball, but do not recall much else.


I kinda liked Speith's scramble to get out of that mess on #13. Memorable 25 minutes.

 

[Midpack]

I recall hearing mention of a provisional ball, but do not recall much else.


I kinda liked Speith's scramble to get out of that mess on #13. Memorable 25 minutes.

Salvaging a bogey on #13 was good. Then going birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie-par to win, with several (very) long putts, was clutch. I like Kuchar and hope he wins a major but Speith had his afterburners on!

Didn't see the Rory lost ball/provisional, but with rules guys all over, I'm sure he was legit.

 

[pb4uski]

On Rory, I presume that he declared and hit a provisional ball from the tee after not knowing if his ball would be found and after searching for his original ball and not finding it he declared his original ball as lost and then played his provisional (which lied 3).... if so then that is fine.

However, if he had found his original ball and decided that it was unplayable then he could not chose to use his provisional, but would have to pick up his provisional, return to the tee and hit another ball and would be lying 3 (stroke and distance penalty for his lost ball).

 

[SecondCor521]

I didn't see it, but maybe he hit the second tee shot in the same general area, but found that one? How much did you actually see?

Ah, that's probably what happened.

All I saw was him and the crowd searching for his lost tee shot, the NBC announcer stating that nobody found his ball, and then hitting what the NBC announcer described as his provisional up to the general area of the green.

I did not see him hit his provisional tee shot, but he clearly could have done it before the TV storyline switched its focus to him. Since it's rare for those guys to hit provisionals anyway, and the "beginning" of the story from my perspective was searching for his original tee shot, and the NBC announcing crew sometimes making mistakes, and me rarely making any , I was confused.

And Spieth from 13 tee to 18 green...just wow.

 

[Jerry1]

Since it's rare for those guys to hit provisionals anyway

Which is exactly why I think they should have showed the provisional hit. Give them a chance to discuss the rule and would have made more sense for the viewer. I like everyone saw that they just went to him and said, he's hitting his provisional ball.

Note to original poster - it was not in the same area. Might have been close, but the original went into an area of really long bushy grass.

 

[garyt]

On Rory, I presume that he declared and hit a provisional ball from the tee after not knowing if his ball would be found and after searching for his original ball and not finding it he declared his original ball as lost and then played his provisional (which lied 3).... if so then that is fine.

However, if he had found his original ball and decided that it was unplayable then he could not chose to use his provisional, but would have to pick up his provisional, return to the tee and hit another ball and would be lying 3 (stroke and distance penalty for his lost ball).

If he found his first ball and deemed it unplayable why would he not take the penalty and drop it there? why would he go back to the tee? He obviously would not be able to play the provisional, but I see no reason he'd go back to the tee.

 

[pb4uski]

You are right, he could opt to drop within 2 club lengths no closer to the hole or take straight back in a line from the pin the ball as far as he wants (like Spieth did on 13), or go back to the tee and take a stroke and distance penalty... I overlooked those first two options since I was focused on the provisional and wanted to make it clear that he could not opt to play the provisional if his original ball was unplayable... he could only play the provisional if his original ball was lost.

 

[gerntz]

I kinda liked Speith's scramble to get out of that mess on #13. Memorable 25 minutes.

Glad I didn't spend 25 minutes of my life on a golf shot.

 

[RunningBum]

Glad I didn't spend 25 minutes of my life on a golf shot.

The difference between 1st and 2nd at the British open is nearly $800K. The endorsement deals for winning will dwarf that. Money not important? The pride of winning certainly is to a pro athlete. I'd say it was very worth while.

 

[pb4uski]

+1 Twice in two days... what in the world is going on here?

 

[zinger1457]

The was one hell of a finish by Spieth. I doubt many others would have recovered under that situation and hitting the drive that he hit on 13. I was surprised he was able to take a drop inside the practice area, most golf courses designate the practice area OB.

 

[gerntz]

The difference between 1st and 2nd at the British open is nearly $800K. The endorsement deals for winning will dwarf that. Money not important? The pride of winning certainly is to a pro athlete. I'd say it was very worth while.

Sure it is for HIM. It's worth zero for me - my point.

 

[Music Lover]

If he found his first ball and deemed it unplayable why would he not take the penalty and drop it there? why would he go back to the tee? He obviously would not be able to play the provisional, but I see no reason he'd go back to the tee.

I missed that part of the broadcast, but my guess is that he chose to play the provisional because a drop in long grass doesn't guarantee a good lie...so then he's lying 2 with no guarantee that the 3rd shot will be playable. By choosing the provisional, he knows the 3rd shot is playable.

 

[Jerry1]

He did not find his original ball.