This one made Jordan Spieth’s ruling at the Open Championship look like a 10-minute quickie.
There was Sergio Garcia on Sunday staring at his ball wedged among rocks in a stream fronting the 18th hole at Conway Farms. He was there in two, probably needed a par to get himself into the Top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings.
A trip to East Lake was on the line.
What ensued was a nearly 30 minute discussion wherein Garcia claimed he was going to play the ball from the rocks and shallow water, bounce it off the rocks, back toward the green behind him.
There was only one problem, Garcia claimed the spectator stands were in the way.
What transpired was something out of a Saturday Night Live skit. Garcia brought the famous Road Hole from St. Andrews into the discussion, telling the rules official how players routinely bounce shots off the wall and back toward the famous hole.
Well, that was about as relevant as the distance to St. Andrews. This was a different animal by far.
In the end, Garcia was allowed a drop, albeit within the same hazard. He dropped and the ball bounced off the rocks, heading closer to the hole. He was then allowed to place his ball in a spot where he could hit it toward the green.
Not only did he hit it, he got it to stop just over the green, chipped up close from there and holed a par putt. Garcia shot 69, finished 11-under par, tied for 12th and that was good enough to get him into the 25th spot. Sergio’s going to Atlanta.
Garcia’s first comment after he finished: “Did that take long enough?”
Seriously?
Here’s how the rest of the bottom five fared:
Garcia wrapped up the 25th spot. Xander Schauffele was overjoyed to nab the 26th spot. Russell Henley was in at 27, Gary Woodland 28, Patrick Cantlay birdied the final hole to get the 28th spot and Jason Dufner is the anchor man at No. 30.
Louie Oosthuizen shot 77-74 the first two days and rallied hard over the weekend with a 66 and 67 but that wasn’t enough to save him. He check in at No. 31. Former FedEx Cup champ Henrik Stenson didn’t make it and finished 32. Brendon Steele was 33. Phil Mickelson missed by a single shot of getting into the top 30. He was 34th. Mackenzie Hughes was 35th.
Defending FedEx Cup champ Rory McIlroy didn’t come close. He finished 58th.
There was some action in the top five.
Jordan Spieth goes to East Lake in the No. 1 spot, Justin Thomas is No. 2, Dustin Johnson is No. 3. Marc Leishman’s win jumped him into the fourth slot with Jon Rahm keeping the fifth position. Rickie Fowler stayed at No. 6 and Hideki Matsuyama dropped out of the top five and goes to Atlanta in the seventh spot.
