Here’s Why a Bug on the Green Almost Cost Paul Casey a Penalty
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- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2019-09-09
COMPILED BY IG EDITORS
Here’s why a bug on the green almost cost Paul Casey a penalty.
Paul Casey's nice run at the European Tour’s Porsche European Open in Germany culminated in his first win on European Tour in 5 years after rounds of 66-73-69-66.
But Casey was nearly penalized during his second round for a very bizarre reason. Check out the video here.
On one of Casey’s holed putts, his ball rolled directly over a bug on the green en route to the hole. The Rules of Golf stipulate that if a ball in motion hits a person, animal or object on the putting green, the stroke must be replayed. A bug, in this instance, is considered an animal.
But Casey did not replay the shot, and he wasn’t notified of the potential breach until he was in the scoring area and an official showed him a video of what transpired. The good news? Because Casey didn’t knowingly hit the bug on his putt, the replay rule didn’t apply, and he was in the clear.
“Almost a Rules infraction, and I had no clue,” Casey says in the European Tour video posted above. “Ants and bugs and beetles, you know, we’ve got to protect them.”