Linda,
Today a very strange thing happened in a match play
competition.
My partner was hitting his second shot for the green from
the centre of the fairway. The opponent was standing on the left edge of the fairway,
far to the left, nowhere along the line of shot.
My partner pulled his shot and hit him. Is he entitled to a
re-shot?
Regards,
Yours confused,
Lou from India
Dear Lou,
Yes. In match play, if a player’s shot is stopped or
deflected by his opponent, there is no penalty to anyone and the player has two
choices [Rule 19-3]:
1. Cancel the stroke and replay the shot; or
2. Play the ball as it lies.
The answer is not the same for stroke play. In stroke play,
there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies. There is no option
in stroke play to replay the shot. This is known as a “rub of the green” [Rule
19-1].
Linda
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