Branden Grace Under Fire from European Tour Players After Taking Relief from Poor Lie

There are two types of golfers that you will meet on a course, the one who plays his ball no matter where or how it lies and the one who will look for any reason to take a drop. These two different mindsets were on display at the BMW PGA Championship.

In the first round of the European Tour tournament, there was Ernie Els who exemplified the golfer who will play his lie. After hitting a shot that he believed was plugged into a greenside bunker, Els went over and inspected the ball and its position. After a few minutes of investigating, Els decided that the spot wasn’t worth asking for a drop and he placed the ball back. Els ended up chipping in for eagle out of that bunker.

This may seem like good karma for Els, as he decided not to play the system and take an easier shot but Els wasn’t so lucky after that eagle. After a few holes to think about it, Els concluded that he didn’t put the ball back in the exact position that it was in originally. After consulting a rules official, Els was assessed a two-stroke penalty but left the round knowing he did the right thing.

Now enter a whole new situation that is quite similar to Ernie’s. Branden Grace in the same round also hit a ball that plugged into a bunker. Instead of analyzing the lie to see if it was unplayable, however, Grace took a different approach. According to those who were on the course or watching on television, Grace stood in the bunker and dug his feet so deep into the sand that they touched the rubber bottom. Because this interfered with his stance, Grace was given a free drop.

 
There is no doubt that Grace was bending the rules a bit but some people would call that a smart player taking advantage of a loophole. The move didn’t sit well with many players though. Danny Willet went to Twitter to ask the European Tour how that qualified as a drop.

@EuropeanTour please explain that drop?! Burying feet enough in to get to the base of the bunker???

— Danny Willett (@Danny_Willett) May 25, 2017

Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley was much harsher with his criticism, however.

McGinley stated that “It was ridiculous. If you twist your feet enough you’re bound to eventually reach the bunker lining. That means anytime a player wants relief from a poor lie he can simply twist his feet until he reaches the bunker lining. That can’t be right.”

It is easy to compare the two incidents and say that Els was the more “honorable” of the two but Grace seemed to be smarter. After all, Grace finished the tournament in T9th while Els finished T51st.

Maybe if Els would’ve taken the drop or kept his eagle chip, his tournament would have been more successful.

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