If you were watching the Player’s Championship on Sunday you might have been a bit confused at the ruling involving Kevin Na on the 18th hole. Since the television commentators did not explain what was happening there were probably more than a few confused viewers wondering why Na was allowed to drop the ball on the cart path when it appeared he was taking relief from the path. A keen understanding of the Rules helps to fill in the gaps the commentators left out.
Na, after his customary 48 waggles, hit his tee shot well right of the 18th fairway. The ball came to rest near a cart path but settled into an area that appeared to be ground under repair. The commentators did not mention anything about ground under repair and only talked about Na potentially having to stand on the path to play his second shot. The next thing the cameras showed was Na dropping the ball on the path. Based on this, a well-informed viewer could surmise that Na’s ball was indeed declared to be in an area of ground under repair. Here’s why.
If Na was proceeding under Rule 24 for relief from the immovable obstruction (cart path) he would not be allowed to drop the ball on the path as that rule requires the player to determine his nearest point of relief (the point on the course nearest to where the ball lies that provides COMPLETE relief from the obstruction) and drop within one club length of this point, no closer to the hole. If this were the case, by dropping on the path Na would not have satisfied the requirement of taking COMPLETE relief from the obstruction which includes lie of ball, stance and area of intended swing. On the other hand, if his ball were in ground under repair, he would be allowed to drop on the path as the abnormal ground condition rule (Rule 25) does not prohibit a player from dropping on a path if such a path is in the relief area prescribed by this rule. Na determined his nearest point of relief from the ground under repair (again complete relief is required) and dropped within one club length of that point no closer to the hole. Since he was proceeding under the abnormal ground condition rule he was allowed to drop a ball on the path as long as the path is not closer to the hole and is within the prescribed one club length area.
Why would Na chose this option? Based on how it appeared on television, the cart path provided the best lie and the flattest spot to play his second shot. When you have a Tour player’s skill, playing off a cart path is piece of cake–Na hit a great second onto the green and two-putted for par. A keen knowledge of the Rules and a lot of talent can go a long way!
