Did rules chiefs get it wrong over Rory McIlroy’s US Open drop?

It doesn’t take much for social media to get stuck in when they spy a possible rules controversy in a big tournament.

And when Rory McIlroy was given a free drop after his ball became embedded above a bunker at the 14th hole during the final round of the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, many were quick to their keyboards.

They questioned the angle, they questioned the length from where the ball was embedded, they questioned whether it was embedded at all.

Rory took relief and finished the hole with a bogey as he ultimately failed by just a single shot to catch Wyndham Clark and claim that elusive fifth major.

But did some golf watchers have a valid argument? While pointing out McIlroy did nothing wrong, the USGA have said the relief procedure was carried out wrongly.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Thomas Pagel, the governing body’s governance officer, said the spot from which he measured his point of relief from the embedded lie was incorrect.

Rule 16.3a says to get relief, a ball must be embedded in the general area and the reference point for taking relief is the “spot in the general area right behind where the ball was embedded”.

If there is no spot available, a clarification to the rule adds you then find the “nearest spot in the general area that is not nearer the hole to the spot immediately behind where the ball is embedded”. That spot becomes the reference point for taking relief.

The problem in McIlroy’s case, as far as the USGA saw it, was that “The nearest point of relief was mis-identified; it should have been directly behind the ball.”

He added: “If you look at where the ball was embedded, there was a grassy area below and that should have been the starting point.”

Pagel stressed that Rory’s ball was embedded, that he was entitled to relief, and he did everything at “the discretion of the referee”.

“In her discretion, her judgment was that the reference point for relief was to the side of the ball. And from a ruling standpoint, that’s the end of the story.”

For those interested, Rule 20.2a states a referee’s decision is final, “so if a referee authorises a player to breach a Rule in error, the player will not be penalised”.

Sports Illustrated said the official was Courtney Myrhum, a vastly experienced referee who has officiated in more than 60 USGA Championships.

“She’s an extremely well-qualified referee and she did everything in her judgment where to operate the drop,” Pagel said. “However, after further review it was determined that there was a spot in the general area immediately behind the ball that was the reference point for relief.”

Did McIlroy gain any real advantage from the error? It’s unlikely. Pagel estimated the difference was around 18 inches and would still have ended in him in dropping from the shelf above the bunker from where he actually took relief.

But there was a place behind the ball where he could have started that process.

“From where he started measuring from, he didn’t get a break. And he did all of this at the discretion of the referee,” Pagel told SI. “He wasn’t doing anything to gain an advantage and as he was told how to apply the rule on where to drop.”

What did you think of the incident, and what do you think of the embedded ball rule? Let me know with a tweet.

• NOW READ: My ball is embedded in the face of a bunker – can I take relief?