A arm chair TV viewer had already phoned the European Tour moments before former US Open champion, Graeme McDowell had reached the scorer’s hut following a bizarre incident down the final hole on day one of the BMW PGA Championship.
McDowell’s drive at 18 landed in bushes but as he moved closer to inspect his ball the 2010 Pebble Beach winning hero caused his ball to move slightly.
However rather than replace the ball to its original position under the Rules of Golf, McDowell chipped it back out to the fairway.
Graeme McDowell on route to trouble at the final hole during day one of the BMW PGA Championship. (Photo - Stuart Adams/www.golftourimages.com)
McDowell then put his next shot into a fairway bunker down the left side of the fairway and in walking up to his ball he called on SKY Sports commentators walking with his group to arrange to be shown a re-run of footage of the incident moments earlier.
He eventually walked from the course believing he had taken an 18th hole bogey.
But after consolation with Chief Referee, John Paramor and looking at video footage, it was clear McDowell’s ball had moved so it meant a two-shot penalty and adjusting his score for a triple bogey ‘8’ in a score of 74.
He incurred a one-stroke penalty under the Rules for ‘causing’ the ball to move in the first place.
And then he incurred a second penalty for not replacing the ball to it’s original position before chipping out
“I hit a bad tee shot into the right trees and I tried to get in there but thebranches were all interconnected and with the ball hovering in some branches,”he said.
“I felt when I got in there being connected and I felt like the ball might haveoscillated in some shape or form.
“I said to Richard Boxall coming down the fairway, can you have the TV look at itas I’m not 100% sure about this.”
Had McDowell called an official straight away he would have been advised to replacethe ball under the penalty of one stroke.
And he later got onto Twitter to say he should had taken that action.
McDowell’s 74 left him trailing eight shots behind the leading duo of Peter Lawrie and David Drysdale.
