Rickie Fowler clings on in Phoenix despite penalty farce

What happened at the Waste Management Phoenix Open?

Rickie Fowler claimed his first PGA Tour victory since February 2017 with a two-stroke win over Branden Grace.

The American survived a final-round meltdown that included a farcical penalty on the 11th – but more on that in a bit.

Fowler’s rollercoaster round also included what will likely be one of the best up-and-downs of the season as he saved par from the cart path on the 3rd.

Are you kidding, @RickieFowler?! ?

He just saved par from the cart path.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/uQECyGKNoO

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 3, 2019

Fowler was 2-over for on the day at the turn, but it was the back-nine where the drama really kicked in.

Rickie’s five-shot lead vanished in the space of two holes as he triple-bogeyed 11 and dropped another shot at 12.

The lead was then tied thanks to a fine run by Grace, including gains at 9, 12 and 13, but he couldn’t sustain his place down the stretch.

A bogey from the South African at 17 lead to a huge momentum swing back into Fowler’s favour and from there he got the job done, despite finding the long stuff at 18.

Final Waste Management Phoenix Open leaderboard

Rickie Fowler's drive on the 72nd hole …#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/4pbqnGZAau

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 3, 2019

Talking Points

Much like many other tournaments since the turn of the year, the Rules of Golf made headlines at the Phoenix Open.

It’s safe to say that in terms of The Rules of Golf, 2019 is off to a very weird start… #Rickie #Li #Sergio #McCarthy

— Ron Sirak (@ronsirak) February 3, 2019

The European Tour disqualified Sergio Garcia this weekend, while Fowler and Denny McCarthy were the subject of ruling chaos in America.

Let’s start with Fowler. Having chipped through the green at 11 to find the water, he dropped the ball on the slope between the green and the hazard. But after the ball was declared in play, and while he was up on the green scoping out his next shot, he turned to see the ball rolling back into the drink.

Under the new rules, this results in a further penalty of one shot.

Not a quad for Rickie. It's a triple. We think. Almost had to do one of those counting-on-his fingers deals like an 26-handicap. Still leads by one.

— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) February 3, 2019

As for McCarthy, he was hit with a two-shot penalty following the second round for a breach of rule 10.2b(4):

This is even worse than Haotong Li!! Y’all did my boy @_dennymccarthy dirty!! Practice swings, no intention to hit the ball, lines HIMSELF up, AND THEN GOES INTO HIS STANCE… get outta here @PGATOUR @WMPhoenixOpen pic.twitter.com/sbBbsaaLjl

— Brad Schneider (@bschneid117) February 2, 2019

Here is an explanation of the rule:

McCarthy did step away from his ball once his caddie had moved out of the area, but with his ball on the fairway the damage was already done.

If the American’s ball was on the putting green and he had taken the same action, he would not have broken the rule. But, as he was on the fairway, for some reason it was illegal.

Thankfully, the PGA Tour saw sense after many tour pros spoke out about the incident, some more tongue-in-cheek than others…

PGA Tour pros on caddie-lining-up-a-player rule interpretation:

Justin Thomas: "This is one that definitely needed to be changed and improved and hopefully will."

Rickie Fowler: "It's just kind of stupid. You're talking about growing the game, but that's not growing the game."

— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) February 3, 2019

I’m going to have to sit down and read the golf rule book this weekend. I don’t know the rules anymore! I still have to get the little white ball into the little white hole right???

— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) February 2, 2019

Astonishing really, that a game that appears so odd, to so many, has within it some of the most bizarre rules one could fathom. If grey areas, cantankerous old men and contradictions are your thing, then take up the game of golf. https://t.co/wP1XhfLy3H

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) February 2, 2019

Caddies when they accidentally walk behind their player…

This new rule is a farce. Hopefully @RandA @USGA will admit and sort out ASAP pic.twitter.com/vNdLTNp3Tk

— Chris Paisley (@ChrisPaisley86) February 2, 2019

They reviewed the incident and decided that their decision was incorrect and rescinded the penalty midway through the third round, with the PGA Tour and USGA making statements: