I'll be honest with you. I've watched the below clip dozens of times, and I still can't really see where exactly the infraction occurred.
Can you really blame Ancer for being "gutted?" He touched maybe a single grain of sand on the way back and did nothing, at least to my eyes, that would impact the shot. Yes, rules are rules. But this one is tough for anyone watching to stomach. It's like when a "Jeopardy!" contestant gets a question right for a huge sum of money in a daily double, only to be told that he/she did not pluralize the answer, or answer in the correct form, or some other extreme technicality that is written deep in the rule books.
But hey, the people I golf with take three or four shots just to get out of a bunker, so I guess two strokes isn't the worst penalty in the world. And, for what it's worth, it does kind of look like the pattern of the sand behind the ball changes ever so slightly from the beginning of the clip to the second-long span between the backswing and the club making contact.
Still, that's like... crazy. It's almost impressive at just how tiny a violation it is, given that officials were able to pick it out. Are they bringing microscopes out to Augusta this year? Apparently not, as the official statement said that it was visible without any aid.
“On the 15th hole during Thursday’s first round, Abraham Ancer unknowingly touched the sand before making his third stroke from the greenside bunker,” Augusta National said in a statement (via Sean Martin of PGATOUR.COM). “After Mr. Ancer had signed his scorecard and exited the scoring area, video evidence was reviewed by the Committee regarding a potential breach of Rule 12.2b(1), which states that touching sand in a bunker right behind the ball results in a penalty.
“The touching of the sand was deemed visible to the naked eye. Had this not been the case, the video evidence would have been disregarded and a penalty would not have been applied.”
Social media wasn't too fond of the ruling, with the majority of fellow Twitter users expressing sympathy for Ancer or disgust at the decision, though some stuck with the "rules are rules" outlook.
Ancer is currently tied for 49th place with a first-round 75... which, to some, should have been 73. Let's see if he can make up for his inexcusable mistake in later rounds.
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