I don’t need to see video evidence. I saw it live and I knew the ball moved,” Chamblee said. “Why was he putting his club into the ground so forcibly. Why he did that is beyond me?”
Clark was tied for the lead playing the 18th hole of the third round on Saturday at Bay Hill Club & Lodge when he fanned his tee shot into the right rough. Clark punched out to the fairway, but in doing so he forcefully placed his club behind the ball several times, even having his caddie clean the face of the club before hitting his shot. Video evidence brought into question whether the ball moved, which would have resulted in a one-stroke penalty.
“He needed to be more careful,” said Luke Donald, serving as an analyst this week on NBC’s broadcast.
The network didn’t waste time addressing the matter, calling in PGA Tour rules official Mark Dusbabek, who told NBC’s Dan Hicks, “That makes my heart flutter as well.” Dusbabek did an admirable job breaking down the Rules of Golf regarding ball movement, which say, “If the ball only wobbles (sometimes referred to as oscillating) and stays on or returns to its original spot, the ball has not moved.”
“When I watch the tape, it looks like it comes back,” Dusbabek said.
As for the whether Clark, the reigning U.S. Open champion, tried to improve his lie, Dusbabek argued there wasn’t enough evidence to suggest that Clark had changed the conditions of the shot.
“A player is allowed to ground his club with the weight of the club against the ground. That’s basically what he’s doing right there,” he said, concluding, “I feel his ball didn’t move and he did nothing to affect his stroke.”
Based on Todd Lewis of the Golf Channel, Clark acknowledged having spoken to API’s chief referee Ken Tackett following the round, and Scottie Scheffler, who played in the same group and signed Clark’s scorecard, was part of that conversation.
Tackett informed Lewis that the rules committee unanimously decided that Clark’s actions did not warrant a penalty.
Despite making a bogey on the 18th hole, dropping him to 8 under par and one shot behind the leader before the final round, Clark was not questioned about a possible rules violation in his post-round press conference.
However, Euro Sport managed to catch up with him later. Clark insisted that he was not cheating or attempting to enhance his lie. He acknowledged that the camera zoomed in, creating the appearance of possible misconduct. It was discussed among the group, and both Scottie and the rules official agreed that there was no movement of the ball, relieving any concerns.
Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee disagreed with the ruling on Clark’s golf ball, clarifying that he was not suggesting intent from Clark’s part.
During the post-game show, Golf Channel highlighted the movement of the golf ball by drawing a circle around it. Chamblee stated that he saw the incident happen live and did not require video evidence. He questioned why the player was forcefully putting his club into the ground.
Chamblee expressed confusion about the player’s actions. “Mark Rolfing from the Golf Channel agreed that it was slightly questionable.”
Chamblee questioned what actions Tour players have to take in order to receive a penalty and stated that he believes the player in question should have been penalized.