99th OREGON AMATEUR (visit www.oregonamateur.org for full tournament details)
Day 2

The Playoff

At the conclusion of men’s stroke-play qualifying, seven players tied for 61st place with a two day qualifying score of 157. The top 64 men are seeded in match play and a hole-by-hole playoff was contested to determine which five players were to advance to match play.

For the playoff, I was following the second group. After they arrived at their tee shots, one of the players was in the right rough and bent over to identify his ball. He was unable to clearly see his ball on first inspection and reached down and gently nudged his ball to get a better look. Though the ball returned to its original location the player unknowingly incurred a one-stroke penalty under Rule 12-2, Identifying Ball. The Rule lays down a specific procedure, along with recommending a player put identifying marks on their ball. If a player is not sure whether a ball found is his,

he must announce his intention to his opponent in match play or a marker or fellow-competitor in stroke play and mark the position of the ball. He may then lift the ball and identify it, provided that he gives his opponent, marker or fellow-competitor an opportunity to observe the lifting and replacement. The ball must not be cleaned beyond the extent necessary for identification when lifted under Rule 12-2.

If the ball is the player’s ball and he fails to comply with all or any part of this procedure, or he lifts his ball in order to identify it when not necessary to do so, he incurs a penalty of one storke. If the lifted ball is the player’s ball, he must replace it. If he fails to do so, he incurs the general penalty for a breach of Rule 12-2, but there is no additional penalty under this Rule.

The player failed to follow this procedure and incurred a one-stroke penalty for his actions. A four would have been good enough to advance. The penalty stroke assessed gave the player a five for the hole and, after a bogey on the ensuing hole, left him out of the match play portion of the tournament.

On a side note, if a player is not trying to identify his ball and touches it for any other reason, rule 18-2a would apply and the player would also be penalized. Rule 18-2a reads:

When the player’s ball is in play, if:

(i) the player, his partner or either of their caddies lifts or moves it, touches it purposely (except with a club in the act of addressing it) or causes it to move except as permitted by a Rule,

the player incurs a penalty of one stroke.