On the par-4, 428-yard sixth hole at Harbour Town Golf Links on Sunday, Dylan Frittelli hit a wayward drive left that sent his ball into a tree.
When he arrived on the scene, it turned out to be more complicated than that. He managed to find his ball still in mid-air, ensnared in a wispy branch hanging down to about eye level.
With a crowd gathered around to see how he’d get out of this jam, Frittelli aligned himself behind the ball, gripped his long putter about halfway down the shaft, raised the club above his head and tapped the ball free with a forward motion and advanced it 30 feet and into the fairway. He knocked an iron from 144 yards to 10 feet and sank the putt for a miraculous par.
Or so he thought.
I thought this would be the greatest Par of my life 😲 I was assessed a 2-stroke penalty for “standing astride” my intended line of play during this shot. The rules of golf remain undefeated ✌🏼 🙄@SportsCenter top 10 play maybe? pic.twitter.com/KvnIIsXuQ9
— Dylan Frittelli (@Dylan_Frittelli) April 17, 2022
The PGA Tour confirmed the violation, saying Frittelli was “assessed a two-stroke penalty on No. 6 under Rule 10.1c (making stroke while standing across or on line of play).”
The full-length explanation for the violation can be found on the U.S. Golf Association website:
c. Making Stroke While Standing Across or on Line of Play
The player must not make a stroke from a stance with a foot deliberately placed on each side of, or with either foot deliberately touching, the line of play or an extension of that line behind the ball. For this Rule only, the line of play does not include a reasonable distance on either side.
Frittelli signed for a 76 on Sunday, finishing 1 over at T-66, which was good for $16,960. The penalty cost him $1,520 in prize money, as a 1-under finish would’ve earned him $18,480.
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