Bizarre moment Thomas Pieters duffs putt at Open de France, gets to replace ball thanks to rule change

Thomas Pieters was the talk of the Open de France on Friday, after chunking a putt only to benefit from a rule change to get a do-over. We’ve all been there, right? Standing on the green, ready to hit a 40-foot putt only to completely duff it and watch the ball go about three feet.

Ad Maybe not, but that’s what happened to the Belgian in the second round at Le Golf National. Cazoo Open de FranceHojgaard leads Open de France after course record, Reed off the paceA DAY AGO Immediately after making contact with the ball, Pieters turned to his playing partner and said: “I didn’t mean to hit it.” The look on his face was one of bewilderment and shock as opposed to anger at such a terrible stroke, so there was probably merit in his comments.

His playing partner Ewen Ferguson, clearly a scholar of the rules of golf, told Pieters to seek a ruling as he was of the opinion that if it was an unintentional strike, you can replace the ball in its original spot for no penalty. Turns out Ferguson was correct, as after discussions with officials, Pieters was allowed a second go.

Per rule 13.1d, which was changed in 2019, this situation was handled correctly: There are two specific Rules for a ball or ball-marker that moves on the putting green. (1) No Penalty for Accidentally Causing Ball to Move.

There is no penalty if the player, opponent or another player in stroke play accidentally moves the player’s ball or ball-marker on the putting green. The player must: -Replace the ball on its original spot (which if not known must be estimated) -Place a ball-marker to mark that original spot.” 'I don't have many things on Tiger' — Donald points to better Ryder Cup record than Woods 'Feel like I have my mojo back' — McIlroy looking forward to