As the Tour Championship rolls into day four, the PGA Tour is facing criticism from fans following decisions made during Friday’s round at East Lake.
The course was already not providing much of a challenge for the field, and conditions seemed to make it even easier.
In fact, despite conditions not being overly bad, the PGA Tour and USGA decided to bring in preferred lies – or lift, clean and place – for round two.
While the players are not complaining about it themselves, plenty of fans are. And many of them have taken to social media to express how they are feeling.
PGA Tour takes heat from fans over decision at East Lake
The rules of golf are meant to help players, and most of the time, using preferred lies is justified. But in this case, it seemed like the TOUR jumped the gun.
It was more like a practice session than a tournament round. Players didn’t have to think much about their approach shots, which took some of the challenge away from what’s supposed to be one of the season’s highlights.
Fans on social media did not hold back either, calling out what they saw as an unnecessary change that affected the flow of play.
One fan suggested that those in charge needed to reconsider how decisions like this are made. “Ask Rolapp if they ever thought about playing the Super Bowl as a flag football game. Supposedly one of the TOUR’s biggest tournaments of the year and the PFs can’t handle some mud balls? Sad!”
Another added: “Pros should never play preferred lies, we wouldn’t even do this with our friends in a casual round. It ruins the game.”
“I know these are 30 of the best players in the world but when they shoot 61 and other low numbers it makes a farce of a tournament with so much prize money. A true championship should be played on a demanding championship course,” a third fan said.
Tour Championship faces scrutiny over PGA Tour decision
The PGA Tour rarely gets unanimous support, and the Tour Championship has run into a few issues this week.
Beyond the complaints about preferred lies, there was also criticism after Rory McIlroy benefitted from a grandstand bounce, adding another layer to the frustration.
While the McIlroy incident might not stand out on its own, combined with the soft ruling and questions about East Lake’s difficulty, it has been added to a growing list of grievances for fans.
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