An unusual retroactive ruling cost Australian Stuart Appleby a one-stroke penalty on Friday at the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational.

During Thursday's opening round, Appleby’s ball moved a couple millimeters after he had placed his putter behind the ball for what was a routine tap-in at the 15th hole at Firestone Country Club.

However, a rules official on the scene decided the player had not taken his stance or grounded his club close to the ball and therefore adjudicated there should be no penalty.

So Appleby completed his round and signed for a 73. However, a couple of complaints from television viewers who had witnessed the incident prompted rules chief official Slugger White to review the tape with two other officials.

They concluded that Appleby should in fact have been penalized, and so retroactively added one stroke to his score.

A player is usually disqualified if he is deemed to have signed an incorrect scorecard, but in this case Appleby wasn’t because he had been following the official’s instructions.

"He (Appebly) put the putter down and then moved it forward towards the ball a little bit. That's when it became grounded," White said. "If the ball moves after the club has been grounded, he incurs a penalty under rule 18-2a and that’s exactly what happened."

Asked why he hadn’t been penalized by the rules official at the scene, White continued: "We didn’t get all the information."

With the penalty included, Appleby signed for a two-over 142 halfway total, nine strokes from the lead.

"I guess I gave information that was different from what they saw," Appleby said. "I was deemed to have addressed the ball once my putter had moved into a normal takeaway position.

"The decision was correct, I believe, but most players would like the rule changed. It’s a bit vague."


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