Golf is a complicated game, and rules incidents happen all the time.
Most of the time, golfers are trusted to referee their own game, and when they need clarification on a ruling, they will call a rules official over. But sometimes those rules officials are called so a player can argue their case.
That’s exactly what happened at the Memorial Tournament in 2019, when Jack Nicklaus laughed at Matt Kuchar for their ridiculous attempt to get a favorable ruling from an official.
The rules controversy that made Jack Nicklaus laugh at Matt Kuchar
The controversy that left Nicklaus perplexed took place on the 17th hole at Muirfield Village. That’s where Kuchar’s drive ended up in the edge of a pitch mark that was not his.
Every professional knows that if your ball lands in someone else’s pitchmark, you do not get relief, but Kuchar tried to argue he was entitled to relief because he thought his ball created a second pitchmark within the original.
A cameraman was called in so Kuchar could view a replay of the shot, which showed the ball bouncing before it eventually settled in the pitchmark, so it clearly did not make a mark of its own.
Rickie Fowler, who was paired with Kuchar, agreed with the rules official, but that didn’t stop Kuchar from continuing to argue his case.
That led to Nicklaus, who was on commentary at the time, laughing at the predicament. The 18-time major winner exclaimed, “That is the most amusing thing I’ve ever seen someone try to get a ruling on.”
Kuchar did not get relief and ended up shooting a one-over 73 to leave him eight shots off the lead.
