South Africa’s Branden Grace has defended himself after being at the eye of a rules storm during the first round of the BMW PGA Championship, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
The incident came on the par four 13th where Grace found a nasty, plugged lie on the upslope of the greenside bunker. The 29-year-old called for a rules official to make a call – with the official agreeing that Grace’s stance was impeded with his feet touching the base of the bunker.
‘I actually knew the ruling from a couple of years ago in China at the HSBC Champions,’ the world number 26 said, as reported by The Telegraph.
‘My ball was found outside the bunker, but the only stance I had was inside the bunker and the same thing happened.
‘I can understand if some people criticise you for standing in the middle of the bunker and going too deep, but if you’re standing on the upslope it’s not always easy getting a stance.
‘It’s quite a steep upslope there. I was trying to get a stance with my right foot, but my left one I didn’t have to do too much. The right one was sliding down most of the time and then obviously getting down into the sand I was touching the rubber. A rule’s a rule, and that’s exactly what the rules official is there for.’
Grace’s explanation was not accepted by former Ryder Cup captain and European Tour regular Paul McGinley.
McGinley, who was working as a commentator, labelled the incident ‘ridiculous’ before continuing, ‘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.’
The controversy took another twist with Danny Willett tweeting the European Tour about the incident.
‘@EuropeanTour please explain that drop?! Burying feet enough in to get to the base of the bunker???’ tweeted the 2016 Masters champion. Willett and his caddie, Jonathan Smart, recently split after the long-time friend felt mistreated by Willett and is now on Grace’s bag.
The incident is likely to rumble on through the tournament with Grace just two off the lead after round one.
Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images
