Former player, and current European Tour analyst, Paul McGinley had some harsh words at the BMW PGA Championship after Branden Grace was given a free drop when his feet hit the rubber lining of the bunker.
McGinley called the ruling “ridiculous” and inferred that Grace unfairly twisted his feet extra aggressively to reach the rubber lining.
It's another rule that needs to be modernised – a hazard is a hazard ?? https://t.co/mucBAT3eXK
— Paul McGinley (@mcginleygolf) May 27, 2017
The situation seemed to make Grace uneasy, but according to the 28-year-old South African, McGinley later reached out to him to say that the complaint was not personal, and the two have made up.
Bullets
- Grace seemed to agree that the free drop was a significant advantage, but noted several times that according to the rule, he had done nothing wrong.
- The drop was approved by a rules official, and Grace took the stance that those who disagree should be upset with the rule, and not Grace himself.
- In addition to McGinley, Danny Willett also publicly complained about the ruling via Twitter.
- According to Grace, McGinley reached out to him the next morning to say that he had nothing personal against him, but rather just disagreed with the ruling.
- Grace said that he received support from fellow European Tour member Peter Hanson, who was unaware of the rule, but suggested that he is likely to get a ruling the next time he is in that position.
- Grace finished the European Tour’s flagship event in a tie for ninth place.
Quotable
“I actually received a message from Paul this morning saying he’s got nothing against me at all. He didn’t criticize me for taking a drop, he just doesn’t agree with the ruling. That was nice to hear from him. That made looking over the situation a little bit easier.”
–Branden Grace
Content originally appeared as part of the Daily Rundown.