Explaining Xander Schauffele’s ruling from first round of Wells Fargo Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Xander Schauffele shot 64 on Thursday to take a three-shot lead after the opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship. The end of his round was especially eventful, with a good break at the par-4 eighth hole sandwiched between an eagle on No. 7 and birdie to end his day.

Schauffele made an eventful par on No. 8, one that was made possible by a ruling that incited some controversy on social media. Schauffele blew his tee shot on the drivable par-4 into thick bushes right of the fairway, but was allowed to drop his ball outside of the shrubbery because a ShotLink tower stood between him and the hole. Senior Tournament Referee David Donnelly returned to the site Friday morning to explain the ruling in further detail.

It was Schauffele’s ability to advance the ball toward the green that allowed him to get relief. Even though Schauffele was ensconced in thick foliage, there was a gap in the limbs large enough to give him a chance to get his ball on or near the green.

“When Xander called me in, he wanted to know if he was able to get relief from this (ShotLink) tower,” Donnelly said. “My first question was, well, tell me what you’re trying to do? He squatted down, looked (toward the green) and said, ‘Well, I have an easy punch shot. I can easily get this up to the green if (the ShotLink tower) is not there.’

"I said, ‘I see the hole (in the bushes). That’s a legitimate shot.’ It was acceptable for the conditions he’s in. Obviously there’s a lot of things going on here, but he had a window to be able to play the ball through this area and that was a very reasonable shot to take on.”

Schauffele would not have been given relief if it did not appear reasonable that he could advance his ball far enough for the ShotLink tower would interfere with his ball’s path.

“If his ball is 5 feet to the left and that tree is blocking him, or he has to go through several other bushes to get to where he is going to, that is an entirely different ruling,” Donnelly said. “That is not reasonable, to (have to) play through all that and expect to get relief.”

Schauffele had to take complete relief from the tower, meaning he had to drop his ball at a point where the tower was no longer in between him and his target. Because the ShotLink tower includes support cables that extend from the tower and anchor it to the ground, Schauffele was able to drop outside the bushes and into the rough. That gave him a clear shot to the green. He hit his second shot onto the green and two-putted for par.

“What was a very stressful moment turned into a pretty stressless par,” Schauffele said.