Xander Schauffele had a great opening round at the Wells Fargo Championship baring one moment of controversy.
Following drama at his eighth hole, an inconveniently placed ShotLink tower and a highly controversial drop has driven golf social media crazy.
The leaderboard shows that Schauffele is on top after a brilliant first round, leading at 7-under and three strokes ahead Rory McIlroy and the rest.
But most golf fans couldn’t get past events at the eighth hole, which began with Schauffele’s tee shot being driven about 10 yards into a heavily wooded area.
The ball stopped near a metal fence.
Then the controversy began.
“This was ridiculous,” one fan tweeted.
“The pros don’t play by the real rules like us,” a second fan posted.
Schauffele was allowed by a rules official to leave the overgrown area and drop outside the woods because of a temporary ‘immovable’ object.
A PGA Tour official later said Schauffele would have only had a 1-foot window under a set of bushes to free his ball, and a tower was in his way.
“I could have hit a 4-iron or something low and just kind of run it through,” Schauffele said. “If it gets stuck, I’ll just kind of hit my next one out.
“But I brought the rules official in there with me because I was like, ‘You’ve got to be OK with this because this is literally the only shot I can hit.’ “
Schauffele, who has seven PGA Tour wins and more than $44million in career earnings, eventually chipped his way to par.
“What was a very stressful moment turned into a pretty stressless par,” he said.
Fans saw it the opposite way.
“It’s a shambles and a disgrace to allow it, but that’s the soft rules of tournament play,” one fan tweeted.
“Next time I hit the ball in the woods, I’m using this rule,” a second fan posted.
“Such trash,” a third fan wrote. ” ‘Elevated Event’ for $20m and this is the circus they roll out. It’s all exhibition golf at this point, purely for entertainment.”
“Would a Monday qualifier get the same relief?” a fourth fan said.
Schauffele, ranked No.4 in the Official World Golf Rankings, escaped and now heads up the leaderboard at the prestigious event.
His opening round of 64 included a stunning eagle on the seventh which was just millimetres away from the ever-elusive albatross.
Fans will no doubt be watching the 2020 Olympic winner closely for the remainder of the tournament at Quail Hollow as he eyes one of the biggest wins of his career to date.
News Summary:
- ‘Such trash’ – Fans think Xander Schauffele cheated and ‘disgraced’ golf as DropGate controversy takes over Wells Fargo Championship
- Check all news and articles from the latest Golf updates.