Cameron Smith is still reeling from the absurd rules mistake that occurred during the final round of the Asian Tour’s Hong Kong Open.
Cameron Smith said the absurd rules mistakes he witnessed on the Asian Tour gave golf a “bad image” and called on rules officials to ensure it never happens again.
In case you missed it, Smith was involved in a heated rules dispute during the final round of the Hong Kong Open.
Australian and future champion Ben Campbell was appalled by Thai golfer Phachara Konwatmai’s behavior on the 16th hole.
Mr Campbell could be heard protesting loudly along with several regulation officers and Mr Smith stood with his hands on his hips.
The whole thing took about 15 minutes.
Later, the Asian Tour released a statement saying that a mistake had been made.
Speaking to Australian reporters ahead of the Australian PGA Championship at Brisbane’s Royal Queensland Golf Club, Smith said he was still somewhat shaken by the incident.
Smith said: “It took me quite a while to think about it. To be honest, I’m still confused about what happened.”
“I guess that’s my take on the rules, and maybe the rules are broken. But it’s not my fault, there were a lot of cops there who saw what happened.”
He added:
“I hope they learn from this incident and really don’t let it happen again.” “Golf is a sport, so the image of golf is a sport with good manners.” I think it’s bad. “Maybe they were more into it than they realized.”
What happened?
The controversy centers around Konwatmai’s actions after he got his tee shot caught in thick undergrowth to the left and then was seen moving branches and bushes to get to the golf ball. It happened to.
To the naked eye, this appeared to be a clear violation of Rule 8.1, which states that players may not move, bend or break “any growing or fixed natural object, immovable obstruction, integral or boundary object, or tee mark.” “To play the ball from this teeing area during play.”
Campbell went on to win.
I understand that you can remove branches that are already broken, but can you also use it to remove brush piles while moving? I guess you can’t move them if they’re covered in vines?
pic.twitter.com/sCJcvUQSSg
The Asian Tour later said: “The Asian Tour is reviewing the Rule incident involving Phachara Konwatmai on the 16th hole of the final round of the Hong Kong Open on Sunday.
“After careful consideration of the transfer report, we have identified a breach relating to Rule 8.1.
“Asian Tours has learned from this experience and has taken steps to ensure that the problem is not repeated. We will conduct a private internal review.”