Beau Hossler is furious pga tour Penalized by rules officials for not receiving temporary immovable obstacle (TIO) relief on the 18th hole, then lost to Kevin Yu in a playoff at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Hossler, 29, challenged the controversial TIO ruling Matt Kuchar received on Aug. 18 at the Wyndham Championship.
Although Hossler presented his best case for at least a few minutes, rules officials denied TIO a free fall because his ball was located directly behind a tree.
The referee decided that Hosler's golf ball didn't slice left-to-right enough for the stands to be classified as interference.
Scroll below to get a closer look at Hossler's shot and his conversation with a PGA Tour rules official…
Beau Hosler
As you can see in the photo below, Hossler's tee shot landed directly behind a tree on the 18th hole.
He hopes to get a free rescue for TIO whose stand is to the left of the tree.
Hossler argued with rules officials that he could still hit the ball from left to right toward the green, so the bleachers would be in his way.
But the official was unmoved.
Hossler's ball landed right behind a tree
The conversation went like this:
“So how is this any different than what Kuchar did in the 18th?!” Hossler said to the rules official.
The rules official responded: “I wasn't there…”
Hosler replied: “He's behind a tree and he has the scoreboard in front of him…”
The rules official replied seriously: “Husband, I was not there…”
“I know,” Hossler said, “I was just asking a question, I'm sorry.”
The rules official confirmed to Hossler that he would no Receiving TIO relief.
“Who thinks [decision]? continued Hossler as he desperately tried to free himself from the tree.
The rules official said, “Bo, I think all three of us know you can't bend the ball over there and go all the way back to the hole…”
“Well, that's fair,” Hossler said before he hit the ball back into the fairway.
To his credit, Hossler then hit his third shot from 133 yards to 4 feet to save par.
His partner Keith Mitchell won the tournament with a 35-foot birdie on No. 18, but the American missed par by pushing his first putt six feet past the hole. The ball return didn't even make it into the overtime.
Hosler hit par from four feet to join Yu in a two-player playoff.
Yu and Hossler then returned on the 18th.
Hossler found the rough left and Yu split it down the middle of the fairway.
The American did get relief from TIO this time, as the stands were right on his stand line.
While all this was happening, Yu hit a towering short iron to five feet.
Hossler then found a greenside bunker.
He would hit a nice shot in the sand from two feet out to secure par, but it had little effect as 26-year-old Taiwanese Yu made a birdie putt to claim his U.S. title. First championship on tour.
“This is a dream come true, I’ve been dreaming of winning on the PGA Tour since I was five years old,” Yu said.
“I'm really grateful to my parents, I couldn't have done this and won this tournament without them. I want to thank my team, my coaches, my caddies and my friends.”
Yu also birdied the 18th hole in regulation from 12 feet for a 5-under 67 and set the club's goal at 23-under.
Hossler, who also lost in a playoff to Ian Poulter at the 2018 Houston Open, is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory.
|
Kevin Yu* |
-twenty three |
|
Beau Hosler |
-twenty three |
|
Keith Mitchell |
-twenty two |
|
Lucas Glover |
-twenty two |
|
Alex Smalley |
-twenty one |
|
Bud Cowley |
-twenty one |
|
*Win the first extra hole |
|
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