Lee Hodges makes ridiculous putt after long pause above hole; here’s why it wasn’t legal

Lee Hodges made one of the more dramatic putts you’ll ever see on Saturday at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

At first, his 16-footer on the 17th hole started as a pretty straightforward uphill par putt.

The ball started right and curled back toward the cup, eventually settling just on top of it. And then the wait began. And continued. On and on and on. His playing partner, Jordan Spieth, insisted the ball was going to drop.

Eventually, he was right, after a 35-second pause, gravity took hold and the ball tumbled in on its own.

The TV commentators compared it to Tiger Woods’ famous birdie chip-in at the 16th hole of Augusta during the 2005 Masters. There’s a few key differences between the two:

A. The shot helped Woods win the Masters, while Hodges is well out of contention at the PGA Championship

B. Woods’ ball only paused above the hole for about 2 seconds

That second fact was actually very key, because there’s a USGA rule that limits the amount of time a player can wait for a ball that settles just outside the cup.

Rule 13.3 states:

And the rule goes on to say that if the ball falls in after 10 seconds has elapsed, it will result in a penalty:

After the round, Hodges had his score updated and his par on 17 became a bogey. Tough break, considering he’s now 10-over through three rounds and 15 shots behind the leaders. He’s ranked 143rd in the world and this week marks his first made cut at a major. One penalty stroke wasn’t going to change the outcome of the event for him, and who knows if Hodges was even aware of the 10-second rule?

Alas, golf loves its obscure rules.

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