Updated: 14.50
TIGER WOODS HAS been handed a two-shot penalty by tournament officials, following his controversial drop-shot at the 15th hole during Friday’s second round of the US Masters.
Woods is now five shots adrift of leader Jason Day on one-under-par for the tournament, though he avoids being eliminated from the competition outright.
There had been confusion over the penalty incurred after the world number one’s chip at the 15th hit the pin bounced back into the water.
Woods appeared to replay the shot from the same area that his initial shot ended up hitting the water, but it emerged after his press conference that he may have dropped the ball further away from the original position than is permitted.
Rule 26-1 of the United States Golf Association states that a player needs to take their drop “as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played.”
Woods, however, indicated he had opted to take the re-stroke “two yards away” from the original position.
According to certain sources, he should have taken a two-stroke penalty and not the single extra shot that he put on his scorecard.
“I went down to the drop area, that wasn’t going to be a good spot, because obviously it’s into the grain, it’s really grainy there,” Woods said afterwards.
“And it was a little bit wet. So it was muddy and not a good spot to drop.
“So I went back to where I played it from, but I went two yards further back.
“I tried to take two yards off the shot of what I felt I hit – that should land me short of the flag and not have it either hit the flag or skip over the back.
“I felt that that was going to be the right decision to take off four right there. And I did. It worked out perfectly.”
(Credit: blinkfan12)
