Truist star’s disqualification, Garcia outburst and Schauffele issue | Golf | Sport
Xander Schauffele caused a Truist Championship stir in 2024 (Image: Getty)
The Truist Championship will crown a winner on Sunday as numerous PGA Tour stars eye glory at Quail Hollow. It will also allow them to run through their final preparations for the upcoming PGA Championship.
Since 2019, the tournament has served as the Tour’s last tournament headed into the second major of the year. Traditionally played at Quail Hollow, last year’s instalment was held at Philadelphia Cricket Club after the US PGA ran out across the famed greens and fairways of the familiar North Carolina course. Sepp Straka reigned supreme in that instalment at 16 under par. However, not every Truist Championship has been plain sailing, as Express Sport breaks down some of the competition’s most controversial moments.
Zac Blair faces disqualification
Back in 2016, Zac Blair headed into his second round, running the risk of missing the 36-hole cut, sitting four over par as he approached the fourth. After missing a birdie on the fifth green, he showed signs of frustration by hitting himself in the head with his putter.
Despite tapping in for par with the same club, it surfaced in the aftermath that he had done so with a bent club as a result of allowing his emotions to get the better of him. He was quick to seek guidance from an official on the sixth tee, but found himself disqualified under Rule 4-3b, which covers non-conforming equipment.
It adds that players cannot replace damaged equipment if the damage is caused intentionally in anger. Speaking about the bizarre instance, Blair said on social media: “I let my emotions get the best of me today. Missed a putt on hole five, and I hit my putter against my head and proceeded to tap in for par.
Blair was disqualified (Image: Getty)
“I noticed the putter on the next hole and went over to the official to let him know about the situation. I informed him I’d proceeded to finish out for par on hole five with my putter. Going forward, I’m going to do my best not to let my emotions get in the way out on the golf course, and I’m going to learn from this mishap and move on.”
Xander Schauffele’s drop-ball controversy
Xander Schauffele rolled into 2024’s edition with an impressive first round 64, carding six birdies and an eagle, on top of just a solitary bogey. That saw him take a three-stroke lead at the end of opening day, but he wasn’t safe from scrutiny.
On the par-four eighth, Schauffele’s approach ended up veering into bushes and trees near a penalty zone. He frantically searched for his missing ball in a moment of pressure before Wyndham Clark found it sitting near a ShotLink tower beyond the penalty area.
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As a result of its location being near a ‘temporary immovable object,’ the 32-year-old was afforded a free drop – taking full advantage by dropping it into pine straw just off the fairway instead of having to play his ball through a tight one-foot gap under foliage.
From there, he was able to pick up an improbable par, explaining in the aftermath: “Got really lucky multiple times. What was a very stressful moment turned into a pretty stressless par.”
When asked if he was in the penalty area by a journalist, he added: “No, I was beyond it, actually,” clearing up any queries as to why he was afforded the free drop in the first place.
Sergio Garcia’s fiery outburst
In 2022’s tournament at TPC Potomac, Sergio Garcia made headlines for all the wrong reasons when he let out a furious reaction to an awry tee shot on the 10th. The Spaniard was then sent looking for his ball within a hazard.
Garcia vented his frustrations (Image: Getty)
Despite eventually locating his ball, he was then told by a tournament official that he had exceeded an allotted three-minute search period in doing so, meaning it had to be deemed lost. Raging with the ruling, Garcia acknowledged that his time with the PGA Tour was drawing to a close and that he was set to make the controversial move over to LIV Golf.
He said: “I can’t wait to leave this tour. I can’t wait to get out of here, my friend. A couple of more weeks and I won’t have to deal with you anymore.”
After taking the penalty drop, which led to a par, clarification came from the PGA Tour later that the official had overlooked the time in which Garcia spent crossing a creek to reach where his ball had landed.
Only adding insult to injury, a signed scorecard meant that no alteration could be made to his total. Garcia ultimately made the move over to LIV in its maiden season in June 2022, where he remains to this day.
