Oops! Pro’s club fumble results in unusual penalty

You can drop your clubs and you can drop your score, but as it turns out, it’s pretty hard to do both. That’s what Ryo Hisatsune learned in unusually painful fashion on Sunday afternoon at the Australian Open.

Hisatsune was grinding through the end of a challenging week at Royal Melbourne when he reached the green on the 8th hole, a long par-4. From the greenside, he faced a classic Australian sandbelt golf shot: A testy chip off a firm lie into a green protected by big swales.

But as luck would have it, the chip would be the leastof Hisatsune’s concerns on the 8th hole. His biggest issue? A fait accomplibetween his 56-degree and gravity.

As he walked to his pitch shot, Hisatsune’s caddie Taiga Tabuchi handed him his wedge. But then, as Hisatsune stepped to address his ball, something went wrong: His club slipped through his hands and fell to the ground, striking his golf ball and sending it skittering a few feet in the other direction.

Now, in some instances, this kind of indiscretion would be little more than cause for a chuckle. Under Rule 9.4 of the Rules of Golf, players are permitted to replace their ball without penalty if such action happens on the putting surface or teeing area, if it occurs during the search for a lost ball, or if a “reasonable action” caused the ball to move, like removing a loose impediment or retrieving another ball.

But, because Hisatsune’s hiccup wasn’t covered under these actions, the penalty was slightly more severe than “replace and forget it.” Hisatsune was assessed a one-shot penalty and instructed to return his ball to its original position.

The bad news for Hisatsune is that his club fumble made a difficult par all but impossible. After receiving confirmation from a rules official, he chipped onto the green and quickly tidied away a double-bogey 6 — his first of two such big numbers on a Sunday afternoon that ended his day and weekend at 6 over, in a tie for 51st.

The good news was that the damage was over almost instantly. Hisatsune was able to return his ball to its original position and continue on his round with only a one-shot penalty.

And perhaps a better grip on his wedges.

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