US Open 2022 – Justin Thomas: “It pisses me off!”

Justin Thomas started the moving day of the 2022 US Open with high expectations and six shots off the lead, but the third round at Brookline Country Club went differently than expected. First, the superstar was not recognized and then Thomas landed in an awkward position with subsequent rules discussion.

US Open 2022: Justin Thompson or Thomas?

Justin Thomas has 15 PGA Tour titles, two of them at major tournaments, and yet not all golfers know him. Before the start of the third round, the announcer on the first tee of the 2022 US Open made an embarrassing mistake, and Justin Thomas became Justin Thompson.

No drop for Thomas on Moving Day of the US Open 2022

But if the start of the round was more funny than annoying, it continued for Thomas on lane 4 with a controversial situation. After a drive, his ball landed near a drain cover. Unsure what to do now, the American called in a referee. The first question in this situation: Is the swing or stance affected by the obstruction? Thomas answered in the negative. “It’s very clear that my stance and where my ball was was altered and sitting bad because of that drain, but didn’t get a drop from it. That’s just how it is. You have to be able to hit the drain to get a drop,” Thomas said after the round. “I called an official in to get a ruling on it, and in the spirit of the game, I told the official I wasn’t going to hit the drain. I felt like I could have very easily told her I was going to do it and gotten a free tee shot, but I didn’t.”

The USGA’s statement to ESPN later said, “During the discussion, Justin was asked if the drain was going to interfere with his swing, to which he replied it was not. Because there was no interference from the drain, Justin was not provided relief.”

Immovable obstructions – What is allowed, what is not?

The Justin Thomas case was about Rule 16.1a (1), it states “an impairment exists if the ball, stance or swing is impaired by unusual court conditions (obstructions), the ball may be dropped without penalty within one club length of the nearest point of relief.” It also explicitly mentions, “If the unusual court conditions are close enough to distract the player but do not meet any of these requirements, there is no impairment under this rule.” So Thomas answered the impairment question in the negative and didn’t get a drop. His shot ended in the greenside bunker in front, and he walked off Hole 4 with a bogey.
“That’s what pisses me off, because so many other people would lie that they can hit that, but I just say, ‘I’m not going to hit it.’ That’s f***ing bu****it, man,” Thomas said before tossing his iron onto his bag. That leaves him seven strokes behind heading into the final round after another round of 72 on Saturday.