Upon losing the Sanderson Farms Championship late Sunday afternoon in Mississippi, Beau Hossler graciously acknowledged how beautifully his playoff opponent, Kevin Yu, had performed on the first extra hole to beat him—fine drive, wonderful approach to six feet, pure putt for birdie and his first PGA Tour victory. It had been fun, Hossler said, who was bidding for a breakout win of his own, to be in position to prove himself under pressure. Yet, he concluded, “I’m a little bit salty right now.”
A bit earlier in the day, it was golf observers who had been irritated at Hossler, 29, who first made himself known on the national scene a dozen years ago when, as a teenage amateur in the U.S. Open at Olympic Club, he briefly held the lead during the second round and was tied for eighth going into Sunday before fading out of the top 25.
Given Hossler’s outstanding record before turning pro, it is a bit surprising that in his 200th PGA Tour start he was still looking for his maiden win. (He also lost a playoff to Ian Poulter at the 2018 Houston Open.)
To be clear, Hossler didn’t break any rules on the 72nd hole of the Sanderson Farms at the Country Club of Jackson. What he did do though—plead to not have to hit his second shot from flush behind a pretty good-sized tree—just didn’t seem sporting.
Therefore, Hossler’s actions after hitting a poor drive caught the attention of those who watch golf closely, who respect tradition, who believe the build-out rich reality of 21st century tour courses all too often allow players to get away with stuff that they wouldn’t if not for structures on tournament grounds. For purists, “Temporary Immovable Obstruction” is an 11-syllable pox on the golf landscape, and “line of sight relief” too often translates into “free pass from trouble.”
Make no mistake, tour golf differs from other kinds of golf in ways that have nothing to do with the power and precision. Players who attract large galleries can have balls stopped by a throng around a green or found by spectators in tall grass or bushes—it comes with star territory. And anyone teeing it up on holes where grandstands or corporate hospitality tightly hug greens gets the benefit of the tournament-week sideboards or backstops. Much to the consternation of golf watchers who believe those structures too often comprise the integrity of the competition, they aren’t going anywhere. Pro golf is a business, and those greenside things and the dollars they bring in have become part of conducting it.
The rub comes—at least to those who believe tour pros are coddled—when the Model Local Rule for a TIO becomes an SOS bellowed into a bull horn. The ability to take relief occurs if a TIO is located on a “straight line between his or her ball and the hole.” Ball in a gnarly lie? Doesn’t matter. There has been a lot of golf on television the past couple of decades, and there have been plenty of instances when TIO relief, although properly granted by knowledgeable officials going by the book, appears to be overused.
That Hossler inquired about possibility of relief when situated behind a tree left of the 18th fairway—to not one official but two! —seemed to be beyond the pale. The tree stood just a foot or so in front of his ball, and its trunk, not a distant grandstand and leaderboard, was what was blocking him. Steve Rintoul, the referee who arrived after Hossler asked for a second opinion, concurred with his colleague first summoned to the scene of the stymie, and denied relief.
“Who is deeming that,” Hossler said, still trying to get relief.
“Beau,” said Rintoul, “I think the three of us know you cannot curve that ball over there and back towards the hole all the way over there …”
“Okay that's fair,” said Hossler, seeming to come to his senses.
There was no way Hossler could have played a theoretical shot toward the structures up ahead. He was in punch-out city.
After playing out sideways, Hossler hit a beautiful wedge from 130 yards that almost went in the cup, allowing him to save par and make a playoff. It was a remarkable recovery, of which he should be proud. As to his persistence in arguing for being able to move his ball from dead behind that tree, that probably isn’t the right word.