Tour fans question TIO rule as shock NEW evidence comes to light over Matt Kuchar drop 

Golf fans are insufferable. The rules official allowed it. He broke no rules. mOve on

There should be a rule in golf that states. Any person watching a match on TV and calls in about a rules infraction or call should immediately have their cable or satellite canceled.

It may well be legal but how can they give that when you can't get a free drop/ place if you land in somebody's divit.

Tour pros use the rules everytime, he didn't cheat.

Be mad all you want, he did the smart thing for him, and it worked out. If you want to direct your anger more appropriately, be mad at the officials and the slow players in front of him that created the conditions for this to happen in the first place.

Same take for me as Alex. Change the TiO rule if you like but kuchar did nothing any other player-smart player- would have done. He was also smart to wait for the next day and other players should have done so also. The pga tour is literally trying to peer pressure players from deciding it’s too dark; which damages the integrity of the events when it matters most… at the end. Make no mistake this events integrity suffered with this obsession to get 72 holes in by Sunday nite at ALL costs. Also worth noting is kuchar thought he saw the group in front was in the green. I get Kuch was a bit out of taste not paying that Tucan caddie more than they had agreed on but the fact is that’s what they agreed on. Aside from that Ive been following kuchar closely since he was a dominating the amateur game and smiling his way through majors he was contending in. I truly don’t care what the masses are led to believe He imo is one of the best men on the pga tour-great dad and husband; amd always respectful to everyone. But he gets a really bad wrap thanks to immature behavior by people like Rory who literally shamed him in public about money just to get a laugh. We should all find that lacking taste and sportsmanship more than Kuch using the rules properly to help his cause. Alex put it best, this is his livelihood. This is pro golf where making the most money possible matters for many reasons more than just having more money. He did nothing wrong. IMHO.

The start of the video is Monday morning. The picture of Matt is at a different time of day. If you look in the background of the photo there are spectators. I guess they came back to watch the trilling end to his round! That could be a picture of Matt marking his ball when he decided not to finish the round ! Make sure when you call somebody out you have done your due diligence.

Rules are rules. Nothing to see here.

the TIO rule in professional golf is one of my biggest gripes. it's "professional" golf, not pee-wee league golf for 12 and under. the pro's get a huge advantage from having fans line the greens/fairways and stopping their errant shots, a huge bonus we amateurs don't get, if i ran a tourney the local rule would be, "we built entire stands to allow people to watch you play, we have camera's and announcers, if you hit your ball into/behind the stands, sucks to be you, for a "professional" those stands are there to accommodate you and are a reason why you get paid, so don't hit your ball into them!" and i've only ever seen the TIO rule abused, this particular case is a joke - you hit it left, hitch up your bloomers and play on, the idea that the scoreboard was a problem and not the trees is laughable; giving a "professional" relief where an am. in the same spot would not get relief diminishes the game

Every person will try to use rules to their advantage or benefit, no matter whether it be sport of life in general, people who may say that they would not are likely mis-remembering or outright lying. As said, Kuchar did nothing worng just as those that have done similar beforehand (and it is a relatively common occurrence) have done, but Kuchar's is more in the line of fire at the moment because he is not one of the golden children of the game and due to some past discretions (not of the Patrick Reed type). The issue for many here is that not just did he get relief but was able to move from one cicrumstance (heavy rough) to a fairway lie with immunity. So for a poor tee shot he actually benefitted with a good lie, something that will get up the noses of many. The issue itself is that the rules allow a player to benefit from a poor shot but being allowed to effectively pick a better place to play from, and thus benefit. Remove the capabilty to drop from rough to fairway (as example) and players will think twice about exploiting the situation. Essentially, add a line to the rule similar to 'any lie that results from a TIO drop must as close as possible, replicate the lie of the original ball'.

I agree. I'm sick of the Pros exploiting what at best be described as an impossible or impractical golf shot. If they say " its in my way " let them hit that impossible shot & if it hits the TIO let them reply the shot. Us Amateurs never get that relief from impossible shots .

But how far was that scoreboard from the green, could it have been in the downward flight of the ball?

How is the nearest point 15 yards left in the fairway when he could have moved it 5 to the right and not be on his line? I’m of the opinion that he dropped in the wrong place even if he was allowed the drop. That’s a rules official problem too.

These rules interpretations are changing the honorable aspect of our game. Kuch is no different from others, Speith has two memorable drops, one where we intentioanlly hits the ball of the clubhouse roof to get a preferred lie, and the imfamous dop in the driving range I think at the open. What about tiger years ago his ball over the clubhouse and clearly out of the course of play but was given relief because it wat decalred OB or marked. Or his famous "pebble" removal, a boulder that took 10 persons to move clearly providing an advantage de tothe size of his gallery, All ruled legal but are these acts and many others including the famous Arnold Palmer ruling that likely cost Venturi a major, in the spirit of the game, the honor of what used to be self policing ? Sportsmanship isso often lost now for money, TV , rankings, ratings and win at any cost. The game loses despite all these players being :good guys"

If that scoreboard is in his way at any moment of the flight he's intending to play the shot ... it's a free drop .... can't play the shot and get another one IF it hits the board cause that board is already on his mind affecting the process of his play ... pretty obvious! I've seen these guys use and abuse rules stuck close to all kinds of "things" bullsh**** that they "need" to hit it this and that way to get a drop when everyone see's it's not the way anyone would hit the shot .... every but of course THAT person...

There are some really dumb rules in golf so anyone who uses a rule to their advantage has every right to do so and it has nothing to do with being a good sportsman.

This is the guy who won a tournament with a temporary caddie and paid him a miserable amount of money. A real stand up Guy. I don’t think.

I would remind people that rules officials are not infallible. If it wasn't for spectators and cameras, we would not have caught Patrick Reed cheating in Dubai when he claimed he saw his ball in the tree. They're not the same, obviously, but it demonstrates that the officials don't always have all the relevant information. It is also the case that the rules are open to interpretation; the official could legitimately have ruled that the scoreboard was not in his immediate shot line. I feel like the past has demonstrated that a British official would not have stood for that nonsense. It seems that in america they are very forgiving.

A non story he asked for an official for a ruling and played accordingly.

This exact rule cost Shane Lowry a major and gifted Dustin Johnson one.

The “have to hit the shot” idea is NOT a brilliant one at all. These guys can hit a ball through a 2x2 window…they can hit a scoreboard on purpose.

If you're using the rules to get an advantage then you're not the problem, the rules are. If it's a problem, change the rule, don't blame the golfer. It is possible to clear the trees but then hit the scoreboard, not likely, but possible.

The trees are a moot point. They are a natural obstruction and he was asking relief not from the trees but the scoreboard. Perfectly legal. The players job is to take advantage of every opportunity to score.

Catch 22 situation, TIO gave him an opportunity to save a stroke....had he gutted it out that extra stroke would have saved him some money he'd have to pay his caddie, and we all know how Kuch feels about saving money there (wink).

Dont hate the player, hate the idiots writing rules that are ambiguous and allow players relief from their horrible shots when the obstruction isnt really an obstruction. There is a difference between a line of site and an obstruction.

Trees are 90 percent air. Scoreboard 100 percent board. If it hit tree limb may get by. Board definitely not.

Would he seriously have played over the trees ?

I really hate the line of sight rule. These PROS have to hit a really really bad shot to have something get in the way. No score board canopy tv tower or grandstand is a surprise. They all no where everything is. It shouldn’t matter if it’s temporary it’s not in the way unless you really screw the pooch.

So no rule’s broken … nothing wrong… bit click bait ?

5:35 Terrible idea. A player may hit the shot of their life through the trees, like one in a thousand type of shot, and then it doinks the leaderboard. Okay, take relief and hit it again. Nah...have to take relief (or not) and hit the ball once. No do-overs.

He could have easily hit that scoreboard 10 out of 10 tries hitting a wedge over the trees.

They are playing for big money, they should use every advantage possible. Me personally out at the course on a weekend….. I’d play around the hazard because it’s just for fun.

The rules official allowed it so you should be doing the video on the official.

Kuchar needs to Hire a PR firm for His Image. 🥵

Didn’t make sense.

Seve would have swung from there and hit it to five feet.

The lesson for today boys & girls is pay attention when you are in rules class. Also the odds are Augusta is already installing score boards that will rise up from underground silos.

They usually cover there ass so move on I'am more concerned that I can't lower my scores cause I can't get a gallery 😅

The rules are the rules that's it! simple! every golfer out there would take advantage of the rule so just leave the guy alone ffs, its not as if he cheated

Fans are mad because Matt K is a 🐱y!!

Just another reason not to like him remember his caddy incident

You all need to get a life…I don’t even put this much thought into my own post round analysis…who cares?

Move on. Maybe you had nothing good to make a video about?

GOOD FOR HIM .. HE USED THE RULE BOOK.. THERE HAS BEEN MANY PLAYERS THAT USED THE BOOK TO GET A ADVANTAGE. TIGER IS ONE OF THEM SO DONT BE HATING .

Using the rules to cheat,end of!!!

Really, who still watches PGA events? It's the Kornferry tour with a few lousy geriatrics who are good enough for Liv golf tour.

So he did a wild drive, into rough with trees infront. So in the end his wild drive wasn’t punished at all. Absolutely insane

I used to like Kuchar, but after the Monday finish, it just shows his true egotistical self, and all of this started when he tried to stiff his Mexican caddie a few years ago!

Cheating within the rules. All golfers know and do it. Exploited for the best result. Learn the rules of golf to your advantage🤔🤔🇦🇺🦘🪃🇦🇺🦘🪃