It looks like being a frantic finish at The Players as weather has impacted proceedings in Florida but there has already been plenty of talking points prior to the weather suspension, notably, around an incident involving J.J. Spaun.
Spaun is chasing to win at TPC Sawgrass and is just a shot behind Rory McIlroy with play set to resume.
However, if Spaun is to win, there’s every chance the victory will be looked back upon with a touch of anger and confusion from some in the golf world.
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Quite remarkably, Spaun was given a free drop after landing on a sprinkler head. That is all fair game and he rightfully took that drop.
However, in a moment of confusion and from Spaun’s point of view, cunning, he then used the drop to purposely get the ball on a second sprinkler head, leading to him then being given more relief and being able to set himself up for the perfect fairway lie.
Spaun went on to make an easy par but over on social media, it’s safe to say that golf fans were far from impressed with what they saw.
Golf fans fuming at J.J. Spaun as he takes controversial drop at The Players
As with any big moment in a big golf tournament, the onlooking golf fans around the world were quick to comment over on X.
On this occasion though, it looks like Spaun’s actions have not gone down too well.
One fan labelled it an ‘absurd’ abuse of the rules.
While that theme continued, as two more fans slammed both Spaun and the ruling.
“These rulings are ridiculous. They are pros. Play it as it lies and no extra benefits”
“I get the rule but that’s a pretty significant upgrade. And we still play from divots in the middle of the fairway.”
However, while Spaun did get criticism, some fans suggested that the rules are in place and he simply used them to his advantage in a key moment.
“It’s in the rules, so it’s smart and legal from Spaun. However, it shouldn’t be allowed. Spaun has a horrible lie in the rough and gets a clean drop in the fairway, just silly.”
“Those are the rules. This time it advantaged the golfer. There is nothing nefarious about this.”
While another fan couldn’t resist making a point about the rules on divots as they suggested golf’s rules are just baffling at times.
“But we can’t make divots in your own fairway ground under the repair because somebody might get an advantage claiming something was a divot that isn’t……”
Finally, rounding up the noise, one fan was having none of it, and suggested the ruling was ridiculous and a ‘scandal’.
“Its an absolute scandal and in many way cheating and totally against the spirit of way Golf is played, in my opinion there should be no relief what’s so ever from anywhere on the course if you play a bad shot you should pay the penalty, solution, don’t play a bad shot”
Should Spaun end up winning, then the controversy will be there and if manages to win by a single shot, then this will be a hotly debated subject all week.
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