More info about Justin Rose’s penalty at The Sentry emerged as the PGA Tour player who played with him spoke up about the situation.
Justin Rose was part of an interesting penalty during the first round of The Sentry that cost him two strokes.
The incident happened on the 537-yard, par-4 7th.
Rose and one of his playing partners, Taylor Moore, had similar balls during that round, and instead of hitting his own ball, he accidentally hit Moore’s.
After the first round, Moore called out Golf.com on Twitter for their article about the situation and how their story was wrong.
“Have to clarify this as it paints me out to be someone who doesn’t communicate with my playing partners or respect the “unwritten rules of the game,” Moore wrote. “I actually never switched balls. Only played 1s all day. Unfortunately, this article isn’t remotely close to what happened...”
Have to clarify this as it paints me out to be someone who doesn’t communicate with my playing partners or respect the “unwritten” rules of the game.
— Taylor Moore (@taylormooregolf) January 7, 2024
I actually never switched balls. Only played 1s all day. Unfortunately this article isn’t remotely close to what happened… https://t.co/fEGrNCFR1G
Moore did not stop there. He had a lot more to say about this article and what happened on the course last Thursday.
“I felt bad that Justin hit the wrong ball and ultimately said sorry which I think threw the announcers/coverage off,” he wrote in his response to his original tweet. “Rosey is the ultimate professional and handled the situation with class. All air has been cleared and excited for the final round of @TheSentry tomorrow.”
I felt bad that Justin hit the wrong ball and ultimately said sorry which I think threw the announcers/coverage off. Rosey is the ultimate professional and handled the situation with class. All air has been cleared and excited for the final round of @TheSentry tomorrow
— Taylor Moore (@taylormooregolf) January 7, 2024
Both golfers use Titleist ProV1 balls that have ‘1’ written on them. Because of this, Rose switched to the same ball with a ‘2’ on it. But he forgot about the switch and accidentally hit Moore’s.
Golf.com initially reported about the situation, detailing how Rose’s and Moore’s drive on the 7th ended up on the right side of the fairway.
It was not until the 2nd round that the details unfolded.
After realizing he hit Moore's ball, the cameras showed Rose with his hands over his head. The broadcast mics picked up the interaction, but the publication reported that Moore switched from a ‘2’ ball and did not tell Rose.
However, this was not the case.
Thus, Moore went public about it on social media.
After Moore tweeted about it, Golf.com issued an update at the top of its story with a correction. The website indicated that they saw his tweet. They also noted Moore’s agent emailed the company.
But on the Golf Channel telecast, analyst Curt Byrum and PGA Tour rules official Mark Dusbabek said Moore switched balls and forgot to tell Rose.
They were wrong too.
Nevertheless, this penalty rarely happens on the PGA Tour, as the top players in the world rarely forget what ball they play.
Consequently, Rose received a two-shot penalty for breaking Rule 6.3c (1), but it could have been worse.
Since the group recognized it immediately, Rose could accept a two-shot penalty—thus a double-bogey instead of a par—on that hole and continue his round.
If he waited, the 2013 U.S. Open champion could have been disqualified.
Rose went on to tie for 40th at 16-under after going 71-69-75-61 on the par-73 layout. His final round 61 tied Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, and Matt Jones for the lowest 18-hole score on Kapalua’s Plantation Course.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
