Bryson DeChambeau's 15th hole at the Memorial Tournament on Friday is one he'll never forget, but one he'll surely be wishing he could. After spraying shots from the penalty area to out of bounds twice and seeking counsel from tour officials in between, DeChambeau carded a 10 in a forgettable hole that dropped him from 1 over to 6 over on the weekend and on the wrong side of the cut line.
His miseries started off the tee after an errant drive found a creek on the left side of the fairway. From there, he grabbed a 3-wood and sprayed it from the penalty to out-of-bounds territory. He could be heard on the live broadcast saying, "Oh my God, that's out of bounds." Nonetheless, he quickly fired a second and third shot from the penalty area, "Tin Cup" style, before his third one finally found safe ground.
What followed was a lengthy discussion between DeChambeau and rules officials over whether one of his balls -- which was positioned on the wrong side of a metal fence -- was out of bounds or eligible to be hit. The first rules officials determined it was out, and DeChambeau requested a second rules official; he, too, came to the same conclusion.
"From my perspective, that would technically still be in," lobbied DeChambeau to one official, referencing a similar instance with Phil Mickelson who had an experience with mesh fencing earlier this year. "I was wondering if I could hop the fence and hit it?"
The official said he could not, but not after DeChambeau stated his case.
Here's a look at how the disastrous hole showed up on the official PGA Tour shot tracker.
DeChambeau's rise up the ranks as a golfer has coincided with his improved physical strength and distance off the tees as he's been lapping the field in strokes gained from tee to green. But in this case, it seems the confidence he's gained in his distance from anywhere on the course played to his detriment.
