“Did I miss a change in the rules?” - Fans react as Lee Hodges’ putt ball rests on lip of the hole for a long time

Lee Hodges' putt at the 17th hole of the 2023 PGA Championship can only be characterised as dramatic. While his 16-foot putt started off pretty straightforward, it took an unexpected turn, or rather a halt.

The ball started off fine and curved towards the hole. It settled right at the lip of the cup and the golfer and spectators waited for it to fall in. They waited some more and then some. It took a full 35 seconds before the ball actually moved and fell inside.

Fellow golfer Jordan Spieth called it beforehand, saying it would drop in. However, no one expected it to take that long. After the incident, fans took to Twitter to express their reactions to the long wait. Several fans enquired about the rules of the waiting game:

"30 seconds, did I miss a change in the rules?"

"@PGATOUR @JordanSpieth Over 10 seconds, what's the ruling here?"

"@PGATOUR @JordanSpieth Are you allowed to wait 30-35 seconds"

Another one enquired the same, asking for clarification on the PGA Rules:

"Does it count??? 10 second rule doesn’t matter any more? PGA officials all selectively apply it to some players but not others."

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Lee Hodges ends up with penalty after PGA's 'resting golf ball' rule comes to light

According to rule 13.3 of the PGA:

If any part of a player’s ball overhangs the lip of the hole:

The player is allowed a reasonable time to reach the hole and 10 more seconds to wait to see whether the ball will fall into the hole.

However, if 10 seconds elapse and the ball does not fall into the hole, the following applies:

"If the ball then falls into the hole before it is played, the player has holed out with the previous stroke, but gets one penalty stroke added to the score for the hole."

Many said that the golfer should be penalised for the long wait, considering that it is a part of the rules. Others, however, called out the unfairness of the rule.

"The PGA is dreadful. They use this clip to promote themselves favorably, while behind the scenes giving Lee Hodges a penalty."

Others, however, did come up with their share of funny responses to the video.

Sadly for Lee Hodges, he did end up with a penalty. His score was soon updated, and his par was changed to now reflect a bogey.

Lee Hodges now stands at 10 over par and far from holding a shot at winning the PGA Championship. This rather forgotten rule, however, will be remembered in the times to come.