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Veteran analyst Brandel Chamblee has criticized the officials for failing to penalize Wyndham Clark on the 18th hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational 2024.
On the par-4 18th, Clark's tee shot landed in the right rough. Before hitting his approach shot from the deep rough, he was observed forcefully placing his club behind the ball several times. During this process, the ball appeared to move, potentially warranting a one-stroke penalty. However, the officials didn't feel the same, and Clark did not get a penalty.
Chamblee remained unconvinced by the officials' decision. He said:
"I would respectfully disagree with the rules officials. I would respectfully disagree with Wyndham Clark. The ball clearly moved. He clearly didn’t ground the club lightly… I don’t need video to see this; I saw it live and I knew the ball moved…. I think he should have been penalized."
Following the Saturday round, Clark also clarified that he wasn't trying to improve the lie.
"I’m not cheating or anything like that or trying to improve my lie," he told Espen Blaker of Eurosport. "Obviously, they zoom in, and it makes it look worse… We all talked about it. Scottie (Scheffler), the rules official didn’t think it moved. So, fortunately that (a penalty) didn’t happen."
Experts had mixed opinions on the whole incident. Luke Donald said on NBC's broadcast that Clark needed to be more careful. PGA Tour rules official Mark Dusbabek broke down the Rules of Golf in NBC's broadcast.
"That makes my heart flutter as well," he said as per USA Today. "If the ball only wobbles (sometimes known as oscillating) and stays on or returns to its original spot, the ball has not moved. When I watch the tape, it looks like it comes back."
Dusbabek also said that there wasn't enough evidence to claim that Clark had improved his lie.
"A player is allowed to ground his club with the weight of the club against the ground. That’s basically what he’s doing right there. I feel his ball didn’t move and he did nothing to affect his stroke," he conlcuded.
When will Wyndham Clark tee off at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday?
Wyndham Clark is paired with Will Zalatoris for the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational and will be the penultimate duo to tee off on Sunday. The duo will take off on Sunday, March 9 at 1:25 pm ET.
Wyndham Clark is currently one stroke behind leaders Shane Lowry and Scottie Scheffler. He carded 1-under 71 in the third round to aggregate at 8-under. Lowry and Scheffler both shot 70 to take the 54-hole lead at Bay Hill. They will be the last pair to tee off on Sunday as they begin their round at 1:35 pm ET.
