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“Bryson Rule” Implemented at TPC Sawgrass? // More From Around The World of Golf

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3 years ago

March 10, 2021

The Arnold Palmer Invitational’s media buzz was dominated by Bryson Dechambeau’s drives on the Par 5 6th hole. Oh, and he won the tournament (NBD). Heading into the week, we knew Bryson would be able to get aggressive with his line on the 6th hole, it was just going to depend on what way the wind was blowing. On both Saturday and Sunday, we got to see him absolutely pound the ball over the water, leaving himself less than 100 yards in. We also saw Lee Westwood imitate his celebration, even though you could build a Walmart in between their two drives. So the question is: Will Bryson be able to get aggressive like this for a leg up on the field at TPC Sawgrass? Maybe not. Let’s get into this week’s storylines ahead of The Players Championship to find out why.

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Bryson Not Allowed to Get Aggressive on 18th Hole?

The plan for Bryson this week, when he wanted to get aggressive, was to drive the green left of the water that runs beside the 18th fairway. Here is the statement put out on why he won’t be able to do that this week:

“In the interest of safety for spectators, volunteers and other personnel, the Players Championship Rules Committee has installed an internal out of bounds left of the lake for play of hole 18,” the PGA Tour said in a statement. “Similar instances of internal out of bounds for safety purposes have occurred at The Open Championship [hole 9] in 2017, the 2021 Sony Open in Hawaii [hole 13 and 18], and, most recently, the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.”

I’m all for the safety of fans, but this is something I would like to see Bryson be able to do in future Players tournaments. We saw how much media attention golf got this week from him at the Arnold Palmer, so why not allow him to keep breaking the boundaries that golf architects think that they’ve set? I’m here for it, and I think almost every sports fan is as well.

The Spieth Revenge Tour Rolls On

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I don’t know if everyone wants this to become a weekly topic, but it’s hard not to keep following it. Yet another good finish (as well as a disappointing Sunday) for Jordan Spieth, but it’s hard to argue with how well he is playing despite missing so many fairways. Every week, I have been saying on the Pin High Podcast that I need to see more out of Jordan before I deem him to be “back.” But last week proved he can get it done at a very difficult track with tough conditions. If he can continue the form he’s been on this week with the best field of any golf event in the world, I may just have to slap the “back” sticker on Jordan Spieth.

Brooks Koepka Out of The Players with Right Knee Strain

I really hated to see this notification pop up on my phone on Sunday night, as I was gearing up to be all in on Brooks Koepka showing out this week. This is not the same knee that was giving him trouble in the past and earlier this season, so this is troubling news coming out of Koepka’s camp. He’s getting more consultations before they give out any detailed information, but hopefully this doesn’t affect his ability to play in The Masters come April 8th.

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