When it comes to the rules of golf, they can, indeed, be beneficial. However, along with the positives, there can be times when they are against you and, for Alejandro Tosti at the Myrtle Beach Classic, that was exactly the case!
Regarded as one of the more flamboyant characters on the PGA Tour, Tosti had made the cut in South Carolina, but would need a big weekend to move into contention. That charge, though, came to a halt at the par-4 seventh, as an unfortunate ruling stopped any momentum the Argentinian had.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this. Alejandro Tosti got a ruling about an embedded ball he didn’t like yesterday in Myrtle Beach. He took out his phone and recorded the situation and lieI’m not good with rules, but it looks like he has a point to me, it looks outside of bunker. pic.twitter.com/6ycXiAWMEpMay 12, 2024
So, what in fact happened? Well, following a bogey at the first, Tosti birdied the fourth and sixth to move under-par for the round. Moving to the 423-yard par 4 seventh, his tee shot found the fairway bunker on the left hand-side, with the ball embedding itself into the bank of the bunker.
First reported by @acaseofthegolf1, Tosti had reportedly called over a rules official and, following a discussion, his ball was deemed to be embedded inside the bunker, which meant he wasn't entitled to free relief. Annoyed by the decision, the 27-year-old took out his cellphone and recorded the embedded ball, with Tosti posting the video to his Instagram and adding a poll to the video with the question 'outside?' or 'inside?' in relation to whether the ball was, indeed, in or out of the bunker.
Going on to make bogey, Tosti then bogeyed the eighth for a one-over-par front nine, with his one-under back nine giving him a level-par round of 71. On Sunday, he produced a three-over-par final round to finish well down the leaderboard.
When it comes to the ruling, did Tosti have a point? Well, according to Rule 12.1 - 'When Your Ball Is in the Bunker': "Your ball is in a bunker when any part of it touches sand on the ground inside the edge of the bunker".
To add further: "Your ball is also in a bunker if it is inside the edge of the bunker and rests - 'on ground where sand would normally be, or 'in or on a loose impediment, movable obstruction, abnormal course condition or integral object in the bunker'. If your ball lies on soil or grass or other growing or attached natural objects inside the edge of the bunker without touching sand, your ball is not in the bunker."
Back in 2023, Sam Burns was involved in a rules incident at the Genesis Scottish Open, with his ball smashing into the face of the bunker before somehow not dropping back into the sand. After a 10 minute plus conversation with multiple rules officials, it was deemed that he was unable to take relief, due to the fact that the ball had not embedded itself and, because his upcoming shot would not be interfered with by one of the "seams" of sod that make up the face.
