Rickie Fowler hits SHANK then takes ILLEGAL DROP from shoulder height!
Rickie penalised a stroke for taking a drop the 'old way'
Rickie Fowler endured a wretched start to his second round of the WGC-Mexico Championship as he hit a SHANK out of bounds before being penalised one stroke for taking an "improper drop" from shoulder height.
As of golf's new rules that came into force on January 1, the new drop rule involves dropping the golf ball from knee height rather than the traditional way of dropping the ball from shoulder height.
According to the PGA Tour, Fowler realized his mistake after playing his fourth shot and informed a rules official on the hole. He was penalized one stroke for “Improper procedure of drop,” Rule 14.3b.
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Fowler went on to make a triple-bogey seven to fall out of contention.
Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Jordan Spieth recently called for the new drop rule to be amended, and there is strong rumour that golf's governing bodies will be doing something about it in the short term.
McIlroy - who lies in contention for his first PGA Tour in nearly 12 months - was spotted taking a drop from the old shoulder height on the par-5 sixth, but he realised his mistake straight away and re-dropped the ball from knee height to avoid a penalty.
