There was a commendable moment during the second round of the Valspar Championship, when Matt Wallace called a penalty on himself.
However, things got worse for Wallace at the par-5 while he was addressing the ball, when he detected it move.
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As a result, he called over the referee to explain the situation, resulting in being assessed a one-stroke penalty per rule 9.4 of the Rules of Golf, which addresses when the ball is lifted or moved by a player.
Following his second round, Wallace detailed exactly what had happened, and explained he’d been warned by his caddie Jamie Lane about the perilous nature of the situation.
He said: “Yeah, pine straw, lots of pine straw, leaves. Even Jamie said just be careful around the ball there. And I was like, obviously never thought about it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever the ball’s ever moved when I’ve been around it. But I had to hover it so far away from the ball because this one twig was sticking out, and I think when I was waggling the ball definitely moved.
“So I had to call the referee over. Didn’t know whether it was in the action of my swing or anything, but I definitely touched it, and then the ball moved from that. So I had to replace it.”
Wallace credited caddie Jamie Lane for helping him make par despite the one-shot penalty
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The incident occurred immediately after Wallace’s first bogey of the day, but not only did he make a par following the penalty, he also made the cut by two.
That’s something he admitted had surprised him, given the situation he found himself in. He added: “Yeah, I didn’t think it was going to go – didn’t think I would be standing here making the cut after that. But a good bit of karma and managed to make some birdies coming in.”
Wallace also gave credit to Lane for motivating him to emerge from the 11th with the par, saying: “Jamie did a great job though. He was like, ‘Let’s make an amazing par.’
“Hit a great shot out of there, a…
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