By Alex Myers/Golf Digest
After finding his golf ball in a sticky situation, Camilo Villegas hoped the rules of golf would help him. He was wrong.
Villegas felt his tee shot on Harbour Town’s 15th hole during the first round of the RBC Heritage was embedded in the ground near the base of a tree and that he was entitled to free relief. But two different rules officials disagreed, saying his ball was simply under loose material – what looked like a pile of pine straw.
Here’s video of Villegas’ interaction with the second rules official. In addition to being frustrated over not getting a ruling in his favor, the four-time PGA Tour winner gets upset with how the situation is being handled. “By the way, I don’t like it when you get a second opinion, and the other guy goes,” Villegas can be heard saying in the clip.
Villegas wound up punching out and making bogey on the par 5. He shot 71 and is T36 after Day 1.
The lengthy delay didn’t seem to affect Villegas’ playing partners. Branden Grace birdied the hole and is tied for the first-round lead at five under, while David Lingmerth made par and is T3, just one shot back.
