SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Oops, he did it again.
Zach Johnson accidentally knocked his ball off the tee at the par-4 337-yard 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale Friday. This wasn’t Johnson’s first rodeo, either. He most famously did it at the 13th tee at the Masters in 2019.
“Uh-oh!” the broadcaster said on PGA Tour Live. “That was an accident and now he’ll get to re-tee.”
But there’s no penalty for this bonehead mistake.
Rule 6.2b 5 states that a player isn’t penalized if he accidentally strikes the ball when making a swing or preparing to make a stroke. Which is a good thing because Johnson figures it’s at least the fourth time he’s done it.
Johnson went to fetch his ball as it rolled to the left side of the tee box. PGA Tour Live’s tweet titled it, “Walk of shame.”
Walk of shame. 😆 pic.twitter.com/x5wDOlAblI
— PGA TOUR LIVE (@PGATOURLIVE) February 11, 2022
As Johnson explained to ESPN.com after the round, the wind had changed directions. Instead of blowing off the right, he noticed the wind was coming at him off the left.
When he backed off and started to go through his pre-shot routine, he casually flipped his club and knocked the ball off the tee.
Leaderboard | PGA Tour Live streaming on ESPN+ | Tee times, TV info
“Thankfully, it didn’t matter,” he told ESPN.com. “I frickin’ striped it, so it didn’t bother me a bit, nor did I even think about it until after I hit it.”
But Johnson also figures it likely won’t be the last time.
“I got an issue,” he said with a smile. “It’s all right.”
