Tony Finau's bunker shot, backstopping...

Mach2

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Seems there's some noise on the internet about Tony's bunker shot on the 12th hole hitting Kokrak's unmarked ball and stopping close to the hole. I know these Pro's are very good out of a bunker but to think Tony purposely aimed to hit Kokrak's ball and stop his ball, and pull it off, is ridiculous. Given 10 shots from that same place in that bunker Tony maybe would hit Kokrak's ball, maybe. Seems the noise is if you hit a ball on the green while putting your ball on the green there's a penalty, but hitting a ball on the green with a shot off the green is not a penalty.

Just imagine the louder noise if Tony Finau would have won?
 
If he was that good at aiming for his ball like that he would have won the tournament by about 30 strokes.
 
It has nothing to do with aiming for it, but the balls location could only help. You can't ask a player not to mark it but there is no rule saying they have to. Now if the ball was in front of the cup he would have asked for it to be marked.
 
I think it's clear that pros play by different rules than the rest of us. If a ball might assist, it is supposed to be lifted. The decisions give a referee the authority to intervene if he thinks a ball that could assist should be lifted and the competitor whose ball is to be lifted is in a position to do so and doesn't. Just need the tour to enforce that. Just like slow play. Which means it won't be enforced.
 
It has nothing to do with aiming for it, but the balls location could only help. You can't ask a player not to mark it but there is no rule saying they have to. Now if the ball was in front of the cup he would have asked for it to be marked.

Bingo. He attempted his shot before the other guy could mark his ball, thus giving him an advantage in the case his ball struck the other ball. You shouldn't be allowed to play your shot until the other guy has marked his ball.
 
What if the other guy didn't feel like marking his ball? There's no rule that you have to.
 
I saw his interview and he claimed he didn't even know the other ball was there. No foul in my opinion!!
 
Bingo. He attempted his shot before the other guy could mark his ball, thus giving him an advantage in the case his ball struck the other ball. You shouldn't be allowed to play your shot until the other guy has marked his ball.

So does that mean that on a 210 yard par 3 if the first guy off the tee hits the green, the second guy needs to wait until the first guy marks his tee shot before he can hit?

IMO this goes with the rub of the green. Was Finau trying to get a leg up? Maybe, but dems the breaks and a change to the rule seems unreasonable. More often than not this hurts the player who hits the other ball.

If a playing partner does that to my ball I jokingly say "you have to call 'bank' if you do that".
 
So does that mean that on a 210 yard par 3 if the first guy off the tee hits the green, the second guy needs to wait until the first guy marks his tee shot before he can hit?

IMO this goes with the rub of the green. Was Finau trying to get a leg up? Maybe, but dems the breaks and a change to the rule seems unreasonable. More often than not this hurts the player who hits the other ball.

If a playing partner does that to my ball I jokingly say "you have to call 'bank' if you do that".

Totally different scenarios. One is standing on a tee box and one is standing in a green side bunker...
 
Rules are rules, whether they hurt you or help you.
We've all seen the pro that took free relief from something but then the drop put them in another spot where they could get relief so they dropped yet again and wow...look at that...a clear shot to the green !
As far as I know there is no rule that requires a player to mark his ball before the next player hits. Therefore, no issue with Tony Finau's shot.

The rub of the green goes both ways.

Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
 
He used the rules to his advantage. There's no reason not to do that.

If they made a rule to keep this from happening, where would they draw the line? Are we going to end up having to wait for people to run up to the green to mark their ball from 125 yards out just because its right behind the hole? We could sure use some longer rounds to watch on TV
 
What if the other guy didn't feel like marking his ball? There's no rule that you have to.

Then the guy who doesn't want to mark it finishes out I think.
 
The rules say that any ball that could assist play must be marked and lifted. Decisions say if it can be done with undue delay. Marking a ball from 100 yards out so it doesn't assist is causing delay. Marking a chip shot that is close to the hole while a fellow competitor is in a greenside bunker doesn't cause undue delay.

Pros take 10 (seems like it sometimes) minutes to get the correct drop from a cart path, a procedure that shouldn't need any assistance from an official, but can't/won't take or allow the 30 seconds for a fellow competitor to mark the ball near the hole...
 
Then the guy who doesn't want to mark it finishes out I think.

Say a twosome is on the green. One guy is 25 feet away putting from 6 o'clock, and the other is 20 feet away putting from 3 o'clock. If the guy who is 20 feet away doesn't feel like marking and would rather just putt his ball from where it came to rest, are you saying that he would have to play first? I'm no rules guru, but that doesn't seem right to me.

Edit: looks like captaincaution's post answers it. My hypothetical wouldn't involve a ball that could assist.
 
Say a twosome is on the green. One guy is 25 feet away putting from 6 o'clock, and the other is 20 feet away putting from 3 o'clock. If the guy who is 20 feet away doesn't feel like marking and would rather just putt his ball from where it came to rest, are you saying that he would have to play first? I'm no rules guru, but that doesn't seem right to me.

Edit: looks like captaincaution's post answers it. My hypothetical wouldn't involve a ball that could assist.
It's all about context. Unless there is a stupid crazy slope on the green (and ntanygd plays on a course with greens like this) it's pretty safe to say the ball 20 feet away can't assist or interfere, but if the player 25 feet away insists that it does, in stroke play the player 20 feet away can play his ball instead of lifting. In match play, he'd have to lift if asked.

The issue isn't with balls on the green thay are unlikely to help or hurt, but with balls close to the hole which are likely to assist not being lifted.
 
In stroke play, a player required to lift his ball may play first rather than lift the ball.
 
So he didn’t break any rules. Why is this even an issue? Rub of the green all day long.
 
So he didn’t break any rules. Why is this even an issue? Rub of the green all day long.
That, boys and girls, is the name of that tune. Trolls just making noise.

I sure wish Tony could/would Crack the code and finally win.
 
Totally different scenarios. One is standing on a tee box and one is standing in a green side bunker...

Agreed. I stated that for dramatic effect. But truly, where do you draw the line and how do you enforce it?

Personally, I enjoy quirks in the rules such as this. When faced with this scenario I would do the same thing, if I can get a lucky break I'm all for it!
 
I saw his interview and he claimed he didn't even know the other ball was there. No foul in my opinion!!

Exactly. He said he had forgotten (or didn't notice) that the other guy had hit onto the green. He was too focused on his own shot. He mentioned how fortunate he was because his ball was coming in hot and would have run our another 15-20 feet.
 
That, boys and girls, is the name of that tune. Trolls just making noise.

I sure wish Tony could/would Crack the code and finally win.

He did once, I think it was 2015 in Puerto Rico. Not a big tournament, but he has put one on the board.
 
Any suggestion that he intentionally aimed at another ball to stop his is indeed ridiculous. If he were that accurate out of a bunker, wouldn't it make more sense to "stop" his ball with the hole that's 2.5 times larger than a ball?
 
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The idea that he couldn’t do what was said is silly. I’ve seen these guys do things with golf balls that defy logic. I don’t think he did but if you think he couldn’t, you are mistaken
 
He did once, I think it was 2015 in Puerto Rico. Not a big tournament, but he has put one on the board.
Yep, was aware of his Puerto Rico victory. Looking for his first CONUS Victory. Hope he plays the Shriner's Tournament Nov 1-5, I've got tickets and would like to meet him and walk with his group. Hope Zak Johnson plays the Shriner's too. I caddied for Damon Green at the Nike Tournament just outside St. Louis back in 1995, practice round, Pro Am and the 4 days of Tournament play. Would like to say Hi to him too.
 
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