“Think he should be penalized,” Brandel Chamblee weighs in on controversial Wyndham Clark ruling at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Wyndham Clark appeared to have moved his ball a bit but was not judged a penalty by the officials at the 18th hole.

“Think he should be penalized,” Brandel Chamblee weighs in on controversial Wyndham Clark ruling at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Wyndham Clark (L) and Brandel Chamblee (R) [Image via Imago/Bunkered]

The third round of the ongoing Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday saw a major debate break out when Wyndham Clark escaped a ball moving incident at the 18th hole. However, golf analyst Brandel Chamblee has disagreed with the decision and claimed he should have been penalized.

Clark, the 2023 U.S Open winner, was tied for the lead with Scottie Scheffler when he moved on to the par-4 hole at the 18th. The American found himself in some trouble as his ball landed deep in the rough.

YouTube video

The golfer would proceed to assess his situation and judge the placement of the ball by placing his golf club just behind the ball. This saw the ball move a bit which was caught on cameras and soon went viral on social media.

Moving the ball from one position in golf is considered an offence and often results in players being penalized. Recently, Rory McIlroy found himself being subjected to a two-stroke penalty after he took a wrong drop at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am which saw his score from being changed to 8 after being initially given a 6.

Though the officials did not penalize Clark for it, Chamblee was not in a forgiving mode. He would dispute the decision and claimed he saw the ball move and thus the 30-year-old should have been given a penalty.

The ball clearly moved. He clearly didn’t ground the club lightly… I don’t need video to see this, I saw it live and I knew the ball moved…. I think he should have been penalized.
Brandel Chamblee on Wyndham Clark ball moving controversy.

Wyndham Clark opens up about 18th hole controversy

After Wyndham Clark found himself in the midst of controversy, he decided to speak out against it. The 3x PGA Tour winner later opened up about the controversial incident in the press conference and denied the accusations of cheating against him.

Wyndham Clark [Image Credit: Imago]
Wyndham Clark [Image Credit: Imago]

Clark denied the allegations of him trying to improve his lie. He further added that he spoke to Scheffler and the rules official and both thought the ball did not move.

Speaking to Golf Central, Clark said:

I’m not cheating or anything like that or trying to improve my lie. Obviously, they zoom in, and it makes it look worse.
Wyndham Clark on the ball moving incident.

Clark would later go on to miss his putt from close range and fired a bogey on the final hole. As a result of this he fired a score of 1-under 71 and now finds himself one stroke behind co-leaders Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry while heading into Sunday. He would now be hoping to mount a comeback in the final round to claim his first win since the major triumph in June last year.

In case you missed it: