Centurion - South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli was the recipient of one of the more unusual two-shot penalties during the final round of the RBC Heritage US PGA tour event on Sunday.
Frittelli’s tee shot on the par four sixth hole came to rest in the hanging branches of a tree around two metres off the ground. From there Frittelli elected to play the ball as it lay, standing below the ball and hitting it back on the fairway.
However, the way he played the ball resulted in a two-shot penalty - after the fact. Footage from behind the player was sent in to rules officials who made the ruling, even though there was a rules official present at the time Frittelli played the shot.
Despite making a miraculous up-and-down for par on the hole, the two-shot penalty meant Frittelli recorded a double bogey.
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Frittelli tweet after the round alongside a video of the shot in question: I thought this would be the greatest Par of my life. I was assessed a 2-stroke penalty for “standing astride” my intended line of play during this shot.
Before adding sarcastically: “The rules of golf remain undefeated.”
I thought this would be the greatest Par of my life 😲 I was assessed a 2-stroke penalty for “standing astride” my intended line of play during this shot. The rules of golf remain undefeated ✌🏼 🙄@SportsCenter top 10 play maybe? pic.twitter.com/KvnIIsXuQ9
— Dylan Frittelli (@Dylan_Frittelli) April 17, 2022
The 31-year-old went on to sign for a five-over 76 which saw him drop 28 places on the day into a share of 66th on one-over for the week. Had Frittelli not been assessed the two-shot penalty, he would have finished on one-under in a tie for 56th.