PGA Tour introduces ‘Bryson Rule’ for Sawgrass

The PGA Tour has decided that it wants no repeat of the high drama created by Bryson DeChambeau at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational when its flagship event, The PLAYERS, gets underway tomorrow.

DeChambeau dominated both the field and the headlines en route to his eighth win on the tour last week. 

Much was particularly made of the big-hitting American’s efforts at Bay Hill’s par-5 sixth hole. In the days leading up to the tournament, DeChambeau hinted that he might be tempted to drive and drive the green by carrying his tee shot across the pond around which the hole plays. 

In the end, he didn’t actually go for the green in any of the four rounds but still thrilled spectators on-site and watching on TV with his approach to the hole. 

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With the final hole at TPC Sawgrass, the established home of The PLAYERS, being not too dissimilar to the sixth at Bay Hill, some had speculated that DeChambeau might be tempted to repeat his antics this week.

The man himself had even hinted at the prospect of going with an alternative strategy on the last by hitting his tee shot left of the water and onto the parallel ninth fairway, leaving him just a flick over the water into the green.

That prompted the PGA Tour to hastily announce a local rule for this week’s tournament. 

It has installed an internal out of bounds left of the lake on 18, meaning that anything onto the ninth, for example, would be subject to the same conditions as any other shot hit OOB.

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“In the interest of safety for spectators, volunteers and other personnel, the Players Championship Rules Committee has installed an internal out of bounds left of the lake for play on hole 18,” said the tour in a statement. 

“Similar instance of internal out of bounds for safety purposes have occurred at The Open Championship [hole 9] in 2017, the 2021 Sony Open in Hawaii [hole 13 and 18], and, most recently, the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.”