Fans Call Out For A Penalty For Wyndham Clark As Things Get Rough At The Arnold Palmer Invitational

Wyndham Clark

Wyndham Clark has called the attention of the golf world with a few taps behind the ball at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Clark was the solo third-place holder of the Arnold Palmer leaderboard. But then, there was a situation on Saturday when Clark had to escape a rough and he pondered the angle of the club for some time. NBC took a close shot of it and it seemed like Clark used his wedge to push the ball slightly. 

As the video was circulated, fans came down shouting for a penalty, as it could have caused the ball to move or improve its position by tamping. Both of these are against the rules of golf. A similar situation took place when Jon Rahm triumphed at the 2020 Memorial and his tamping of the club moved the ball slightly. As a result, he was given a one-shot penalty. Now, let’s take a look at the viewpoints of others on Clark’s action.

Fans Urge For A Penalty Watching Wyndham Clark’s Ball Movement

A varied range of reactions were given by fans witnessing the situation.

A fan shared Rule 9 and stated that it’s unjustified to move one’s golf ball or another golfer’s ball while positioning the club. 

Another fan thinks that the ball can move if it comes back to the original position.

A cybercitizen statistically gave two conditions to find out whether Clark did that for better ball-striking. 

A follower of the golfer thinks that Clark didn’t do anything to improve the lie at all.

An enthusiast thinks that it wasn’t intentional by Clark but the ball didn’t return to its original position.

Witnessing the situation, PGA Tour official Mark Dusbabek said,

“I feel his ball didn’t move and he did nothing to affect his stroke.”

But Brandel Chamblee thinks that it was intentional of Clark to do this for cheating. 

I don’t need video to see this. I saw it live and I knew the ball moved. I think he should have been penalized.” He further continued, “I would respectfully disagree with the rules officials. I would respectfully disagree with Wyndham Clark. The ball clearly moved. He clearly didn’t ground the club lightly.” 

While Clark constantly kept shouting that it wasn’t cheating or an attempt to improve his lie, the golf world got divided in that respect. It could be either that NBC tried to do it for fame by zooming in to show that action controversial or it could be that Clark did it without knowing. As of now, he didn’t face a penalty, as the PGAT officials didn’t get convinced. 

Post Edited By: Manaal Siddiqui
Wyndham Clark

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Suchita Chakraborty

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at The SportsRush. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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