Robert MacIntyre just missed out on forcing a playoff at the Valero Texas Open on Sunday afternoon.
MacIntyre, who has won twice on the PGA Tour, led by one stroke heading into the final round of the Valero Texas Open.
However, the 29-year-old was unable to get the job done in the end as J.J. Spaun secured the trophy after a final round 67.
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MacIntyre playing 30 holes on Sunday at the Valero Texas Open was certainly not ideal for his Masters preparation.
However, he still would have been desperate to get his third PGA Tour win at TPC San Antonio over the weekend.
He obviously came up just short, despite a late charge on his back nine.
That said, something that happened when MacIntyre was playing the 18th hole really should be looked at very closely by the PGA Tour.
PGA Tour rule change needed after what Robert MacIntyre did
MacIntyre still had a chance to win the Valero Texas Open when playing his final hole of the last round on Sunday.
The Scot required a birdie to force a playoff with J.J. Spaun as he played the par-five final hole, which was not reachable in two.
MacIntyre hit his drive into the fairway and then pulled out a three-wood in an attempt to get as close to the green as possible.
However, the 29-year-old wildly hooked his second shot to the right behind the grandstands.
MacIntyre was gifted a free drop and was left with a fairly decent lie and a direct line to the back right pin.
He eventually made a par and missed out on the playoff.
However, he should never have had a chance to hit his third shot close to the flag after what was, quite frankly, a horrendous second shot.
MacIntyre would have known full well that he could miss miles to the right and be handed a free drop and that just isn’t right.
The PGA Tour have to act now to prevent the ploy, which has become known as ‘grandstanding’, from happening in the future.
What the R&A did to combat ‘grandstanding’
The R&A came up with a genius ploy during The Open Championship at Royal Portrush last year.
In order to prevent players from hitting their balls into grandstands without fear of any genuine consequence, the R&A implemented rather severe drop zones.
If any player hit their ball into the grandstands, they were still entitled to take a free drop.
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However, the drop zones were put right in the middle of thick bushes.
The idea here was to prevent players from purposely bailing out into the grandstands and receiving free drops on pristine lies with perfect lines into the pin.
The PGA Tour have to follow suit in this regard.
Robert MacIntyre knew he could miss a long way to the right with his second shot on the 18th hole at the Valero Texas Open.
As a result, he didn’t even bring the water into play and that’s just not right. The PGA Tour must change the free drop from grandstands rule as a matter of urgency.
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