A fan was spotted instantly regretting his decision to bizarrely catch Brandt Snedeker’s tee shot at the Zurich Classic.
During the third day of the PGA Tour’s unique team event, Snedeker and Chez Reavie were teeing up in the four-ball round.
At the ninth hole, the 43-year-old sent his first shot well wide of his intended target and called ‘Right!’ to the patrons.
The ball then landed over the fans to the right of the fairway and took a bounce before looking set to end up past the cart path.
At least that was until one fan decided to catch the ball!
He stepped back and grasped it after the bounce, turning back to his group of friends before instantly dropping it.
Another patron could be heard shouting: “No! No! No!”
And the man threw his hand up to his mouth in disbelief at what he had just done, realising his mistake.
He stood around the ball for a few seconds, biting his nails at the fact he had just interfered with play and potentially impacted Snedeker and Reavie’s hole.
A commentator on ESPN joked: “It’s all good. That’s a kid who plays a lot of baseball. He just forgot!”
In the end, it was all okay for the fan as Snedeker was actually in a better position than he would’ve been if he hadn’t caught it!
That was due to a little-known rule that comes into play should this rare event happen on the course.
According to the USGA Rules of Golf, Rule 11.1a states, “If a player’s ball in motion accidentally hits any person (including the player) or outside influence, there is no penalty.”
So because Snedeker’s ball wasn’t at rest, there was no punishment for him, and Reavie took the next shot from where the fan dropped it.
Which was a better outcome, with the tee shot destined to be going much further off the fairway.
Snedeker and Reavie managed to make par at the ninth despite that interference and ended the round eight under.
That score left them last in the leaderboard heading into the final day of the Zurich Classic with Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry among the challengers at the top.
News Summary:
- Fan bizarrely catches Brandt Snedeker’s ball and little-known rule decided where he took next shot
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