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ROCHESTER, NY – No, Phil Mickelson wasn’t breaking the rules at the PGA Championship.
But he would have been if he were playing on the PGA Tour.
The sequence occurred during Thursday’s first round at Oak Hill Country Club when Twitter observer – “Phil Mickelson Tracker” – Note that Mickelson changed the model of the Callaway golf ball during play. The account tweeted: “Noticed Phil changing balls halfway through the round. He was using the Callaway he was lining up a Sharpie with, now using the official triple track ball.”
To which Michelson responded10:18 p.m.: “There is no one-ball rule in the PGA.” Also added a smiley emoji.
Especially there He is The one-ball rule is on the PGA Tour, and they have penalized players for it in the past. So why not a PGA Championship run by the PGA of America? It’s actually simple.
It’s their choice.
The conversation here includes golf ball rules – and local rule form. Let’s start with the first, which is actually what everyone follows. The USGA story explains things well when he writes:
“Generally, you’ll come out with the same ball you play from the tee. You can always use a new ball when starting the hole. You can also substitute a different ball at any time you feel comfortable, including penalty and penalty relief. Unless it’s the local rule for ball One in effect, the replaced ball can be any make, brand or model. Even so, on the putting green, when you mark your ball and bring it up, you must replace the same ball to finish the hole.”
In the case of the PGA Championship, the “domestic one-ball rule” is not in play. Let’s talk about this rule first. Another USGA story illustrates this Domestic form of rule G-4 when you say:
If this rule is in effect, you must play with the same brand, and model of golf ball that you started the round with. This means that if you started with a Titleist Pro V1, you must play a Titleist Pro V1 for the remainder of the round and may not switch to a brand Another brand or even another model of Titleist golf ball.”
Penalties vary – if a player hits a shot with a different model of ball, they will be assessed a single stroke, or things can go wrong. According to the laws“When a player discovers that he or she has played a ball in violation of this local rule, he or she must stop using that ball before playing from the next tee area and complete the round with a ball of the same brand and model used at the start of the round or the player is disqualified.”
But again, it’s up to the hero. This takes us to what the typical local rules are.
In short, it is adoptable. or not. They advise. And the PGA of America goes with the golf ball rule only.
“We basically play by the rules of golf, which allow you to change your ball between holes,” Kerry Hay, chief tournament officer for the PGA of America, told a GOLF.com reporter Friday morning. “And now any time you substitute a ball in play, you’re allowed to.”
On the PGA Tour, the one-ball rule has been applied before, perhaps most notably in 2019 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. There, Russell Henley was slapped with a whopping eight penalty after it was discovered that he used two different types of Titleist ProV1x golf balls during the second round. (In a sporting disposition, Henley turned himself in — after he caught the error while signing autographs after the tour.)
Notably, the PGA of America and the PGA Tour differ in implementing another typical domestic rule.
The rules of golf now Allow distance measuring devices – that is, range finders – and they play in the PGA Championship. On Thursday, in fact, Mickelson’s stroller (and her brother’s), Tim Mickelson, was spotted using one.
but Local Government Form G-5 Let the tournament committees stop them.
And the PGA Tour, along with the USGA, R&A and Masters, enforces this at events.