Patrick Reed found himself at the centre of controversy at the Hero World Challenge tournament.
The 29-year-old American was penalised two strokes after he moved sand behind the ball with his club while taking two practice swings on the 11th hole during the third round.
“You cannot remove or press down loose soil or sand,” PGA Tour vice president Slugger White said of the incident.
“That’s the bottom line.”
The 2018 Masters winner maintains he never intended to improve his lie but accepted the penalty.
As a result, Reed is now three shots behind leader Gary Woodland, with the final round still to be played.
Paul
Roar Guru
This guy's suss, IMO. His statement that it wasn't as bad as it looked because the camera angle was pure b.s and Cameron Smith a fellow pro, said as much. I'm no golfer and even I knew this wasn't allowed so he must have therefore why did he do it unless he wanted to gain an advantage?