US PGA Championship: nothing is considered as a bunker
One of the most awaited majors, the US PGA Championship is about to start. The event tees off on the 9th of August and being a four-day event, it is supposed to end on the 12th of August.
The elite golfers of the world are going to fight it out at the prestigious venue, the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, the Ocean Course.
This is going to be a very tough course for the players as it is one of the longest courses on the PGA Tour. It has also been forecasted that the weather conditions are also going to be very unfriendly for the players.
It is expected that the four days of the Championship will include thunderstorm, rain, lightening and strong winds.
Still, some rules have made the game a bit easier for the players. Two years ago, in the PGA of America, American Dustin Johnson missed the play offs after getting a two-shot penalty as he did not realize that he was in the bunker.
The PGA Championship is now following the local rules. According to these rules, for the first time in a PGA Championship, nothing is considered a bunker.
In the event which starts this Thursday, players will be allowed to ground their clubs on the sand and they can even remove debris if the ball lies on the grass.
“To make it fair and understandable for the players, this is how we think it should be played,” said Kerry Haigh, the PGA managing director of championships. “Hopefully, they understand”.
In the Championship, there are no bunkers now where players cannot ground their club. The term Haigh used for these areas was the ‘sandy areas’.
“It’s different, that’s for sure,” Australian Geoff Ogilvy, 35, said in an interview yesterday, while waiting out a rainstorm on the clubhouse’s porch.
“Some of them look like normal bunkers. Some of them look like waste areas. If Dustin hadn’t done what he had done, I’m sure we might have had a setup with some waste areas and some bunkers”.
Whatever may be the case, this is going to be a very exciting tournament and it is going to be a real challenge for the best in the sport.
Tags: