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Another week on the PGA Tour is over and once again, it was dominated by a rules row.

Cam Smith was handed a two-shot penalty for playing his ball from the wrong place. Having found water on the fourth, the Australian took a drop, but played his shot with the ball touching the red hazard line.

Under the Rules of Golf, it was the correct call, and Smith himself admitted his ball had been on the line.

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Unfortunately, however, while the incident took place on Saturday, the penalty was not announced until shortly before play had begun on Sunday.

Gary Young, the PGA Tour’s chief referee, admitted officials had spotted the incident at the time but had chosen not to investigate further until seeing a replay later in the broadcast.

“This is something common that players do every day,” he said.

“After seeing the rebroadcast and seeing it again, we felt that it was pretty close to the line and worth a second look. So we did take a second look at it and sure enough, we felt it was really close to the line, if not touching and possibly on the line. So it was worth asking the player.

“When I asked him the question, unfortunately, he said to me, ‘No, the ball was definitely touching the line’. So at that point there’s no turning back.

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“That was a moment where I know that the player has knowledge that the ball was touching the line, he just simply didn’t understand the rule that it requires the entire ball to be outside of the penalty area and in his relief area.”

Needless to say, the world of social media was less than sympathetic towards the tour and its officials over the incident.

Take a look at some of the responses…

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