Defending Mexico Open Champion Makes Cut On The Number After Rules Penalty Reversed

A number of players endured lengthy waits on Friday to see whether they had made the cut at the Mexico Open, with one of those being defending champion Jake Knapp.

The American, who won on his ninth PGA Tour start at Vidanta Vallarta in 2024, finished his second day three-under for the tournament, which just so happened to be the cutline number.

However, after his one-over-par second round, Knapp was reportedly handed a two-shot penalty before it was then reversed by officials after they had reviewed the footage.

Playing the back nine first, Knapp came to the par 3 ninth on Friday, his 18th, at four-under. However, after finding the bunker with his tee shot, Knapp needed to get up-and-down to definitely confirm his participation for the weekend.

Knapp, though, left his second in the bunker and, after gently tapping the ground in frustration and smoothing it over, he managed to make bogey from the same bunker to drop back to three-under.

Enduring a nervy wait, it was then revealed that, because Knapp had touched the sand with his wedge following his second shot, he had broken Rule 12.2b, which states: "Before making a stroke at your ball in a bunker, you must not: 'Deliberately touch sand in the bunker with your hand, a club or rake or any other object to test the condition of the sand and learn information for your next stroke.'"

Initially, Knapp was handed a two-stroke penalty on the ninth hole by the officials, but it ended up being revoked, with the PGA Tour's Rules Official, Ken Tackett, and the Rules Committee, re-watching the footage and determining that he should not have received a penalty.

For those confused as to why the 30-year-old wasn't assessed a penalty, it's due to the fact that Rule 12.2b goes on to add: "When touching sand does not result in penalty - Except as covered by (1), this Rule does not prohibit the player from touching sand in the bunker in any other way.

"(These) include: 'Digging in with the feet to take a stance for a practice swing or the stroke, smoothing the bunker to care for the course, placing clubs, equipment or other objects in the bunker (whether by throwing or setting them down), measuring, marking, lifting, replacing or taking other actions under a Rule, leaning on a club to rest, stay balanced or prevent a fall, or striking the sand in frustration or anger.'"

Essentially, players can touch the sand when striking in frustration or anger without penalty, which is why the penalty was reportedly reversed.