Amid ‘Stupid Local Rule’ LIV Drama, Top 5 Occasions of ‘Dumb’ Golf Rule Moments Explored

The stage was set for 92 talented golfers to fight it out for the right to a life-changing LIV Golf contract and selection in one of the teams. Things had already heated up after the events of the first rounds which saw some amazing strokeplay and surprising eliminations. As the pros began their quest for final-day promotion, some players showed clear signs of brilliance that helped them secure the top-20 spot easily. However, the spotlight this time was on a player who may have found it a tad bit difficult to make it to the next round had it not been for a ridiculous local ground rule.

After teeing off at the 18th hole, Ollie Schniederjans landed in a peculiar position that would have been very difficult to get out of in any other event. The wall was placed just at the edge of a sandy waste area with an odd rise. After a short conversation with the officials, Schniederjans was given relief due to the wrist-breaking curvature of the angle of the shot and the rule on the ground that allows the players to avail relief from such spots to prevent injuries. After placing the ball back on the grass, the 31-year-old was able to finish the round in the next two strokes. This was the playoff at the 18th hole against Michael Maguire. Ollie Schniederjans’s victory came at the cost of Maguire’s elimination, all thanks to a rule that wouldn’t have applied anywhere else in the professional circuit.

The entire situation was shared by @acaseofthegolf1 on their X account with the caption, “Oh my, and he makes birdie to get thru. Feel terrible for MJ, he asked about the ruling it looked like. Again, good for Ollie, he did absolutely nothing wrong, it was a local rule used all week.” It received a lot of negative reactions from the fans.

What!?!?!?!?!!

Ollie got relief from here.

A local rule to “prevent injury”.

(Not anything against Ollie, great break for him, just a stupid local rule). pic.twitter.com/wKaypg6AB5

— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) December 13, 2024

This is not the first time the golf community has been baffled by the surprising decision on the professional circuits. Let’s take a look at 5 other incidents that caught everyone’s attention.

Joel Dahmen getting 4 strokes penalty for an extra club
As a general rule, PGA Tour pros are only allowed to carry a maximum of 14 clubs in their golf bag for any official event. However, in the first round of the 2024 Shriners Children’s Cup back in October 2024, it was discovered that Joel Dahmen had 15 clubs in his kit. In the fourth hole of the first day, Dahmen was penalized with 4 strokes that ended his score for the day at 76. While he himself, only played 1 over par, his caddy’s small mistake cost him 4 unnecessary strokes. A demotivated Dahmen ended up withdrawing from the tournament after the first day. This received a lot of slack from the fans as they targeted Dahmen’s best friend and long-time caddie, Geno Bonnalie. One user’s comment stood out as he criticized Bonnalie by saying, “Geno, You have one job!”

Jordan Spieth gets disqualified
Back in February 2024, Jordan Spieth was still relatively uninjured and eager to perform well in the Genesis Invitational. He had an excellent first round with a score of 66. There were rumors that he had picked up the flu on the 2nd day and was playing under its stress. However, no one could have imagined what transpired at the end of the round, which led to a surprising decision by the event officials. After finishing the 18th, Spieth signed off on the scorecard and thought his job was done. However, it was later discovered that the 13X PGA Tour winner had actually signed a card with incorrect information. On the 4th hole of the 2nd round, Spieth had scored a par-3 bogey that would have put his score at 73. However, the round’s card showed that he had scored a par and his total score ended up at 72 instead. This led to the tournament officials deciding to disqualify the 31-year-old from the tournament.

Vongtaveelap’s caddie gets her DQ’d
Back in July 2023, LPGA Tour rookie Natthakritta Vongtaveelap made her first appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open. What should have been a promising start soon turned into a horrid nightmare for the young pro. Vongtaveelap’s caddie, Jinsup Kim was seen using a rangefinder on the course multiple times. It falls against the regulations of the tournament as any participating member is not allowed to. Jinsup did receive a warning. However, the infamous caddie used the device again which led to a second breach of rules. This, in turn, got Natthakritta Vongtaveelap disqualified from the tournament.

Matt Fitzpatrick gets Collin Morikawa eliminated
Another incident of banned technology usage occurred in the 2023 Hero World Challenge. The two-time major winner, Collin Morikawa, was using green-reading materials to assist him with the course. No one had previously seen him do it and the details of the same were only discussed between him and his caddie. However, during the 4th hole of the 3rd round, Morikawa referenced that information in a conversation while discussing the statistics. Not long after, Matt Fitzpatrick texted the Tour official Stephen Cox inquiring about the validity of the rules. Once it was brought to their attention, they took the necessary steps and disqualified Collin Morikawa from the tournament. Who would have thought that fellow pro golfers also cannot be trusted during a competition in the gentleman’s sport?

Lydia Ko was awarded a 7-stroke penalty
The 2023 Dana Open was laced with rainfall. During the third round of the event, officials allowed players to lift, clean, and place their golf balls on all of the 18 holes. However, the weather was much better on the 4th day. But since the course still had a lot of moisture, Lydia Ko continued to follow the steps on the 3rd, 7th, 9th, and 11th holes. That’s when she realized her mistake and brought it to the attention of the officials. The event officials ended up penalizing her two strokes each for the 3rd, 7th, and 9th holes, and 1 stroke for the 11th hole. That totaled to a 7-stroke penalty for the former major winner. But as per the rules set by the officials at the beginning of the round, Players were allowed to continue to lift, clean, and wipe the golf balls from holes 1 to 10. Based on these rules, Ko should have only been penalized 1 stroke. However, the on-ground event staff made a major blunder and wrongfully gave a much larger and more drastic penalty to Lydia Ko.

There are many more incidents of pro golfers being wronged just in the last couple of years. There needs to be a better centralized governing body that can investigate such situations closely and make the right decisions. Because in the heat of the moment, you can never predict if the player, caddie, officials, or even fans can be trusted to follow the rule books accurately.