Charley Hoffman blasts PGA Tour after rules issue at WM Phoenix Open leads to penalty

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Charley Hoffman expressed his displeasure with the PGA Tour on Friday night after a rules issue cost him a penalty stroke on a drop in the second round of the WM Phoenix Open.

In a lengthy Instagram post, Hoffman criticized the Tour's rules officials, who he thinks aren't held accountable, and accused the Tour of not protecting its players. He went on to suggest that those are among the reasons why players are considering playing on other tours.

The genesis of Hoffman's post, which started with «What a joke @usga @pgatour,» was an issue he had on the 13th hole at the WM Phoenix Open. Hoffman hit his tee shot in the water, which added a penalty stroke to his score. The trouble began when he tried dropping for his third stroke. Hoffman explained in the post that he dropped twice in the side of a hill that didn't have any grass. He explained that he finally found a «small tuff of grass» for the ball to lay, but when he turned around, the ball rolled back into the water.

Hoffman was forced to take another penalty stroke, even though he thought the USGA had changed that rule, which made his next shot his fourth stroke. He finished the par-5 hole with a double-bogey.

«I was under the impression that the @usga had changed that rule,» Hoffman wrote in his post. «I was wrong. Had to take another penalty for doing nothing wrong at all. Did everything by the book. It's still mind blowing that a group of amateurs rule the professional game of golf.

»I also blame the @pgatour rules officials for putting out a terrible penalty area line where this could even happen. No accountability at any level here. No protection for the players at all. You wonder why guys are wanting to jump ship and go play on another tour.