J.J. Spaun Involved In Drop Drama While In Contention At The Players Championship

Winds were causing havoc at The Players Championship over the weekend, with some misguided shots being played from those in contention in Florida.

Taking the solo lead into the final round, J.J. Spaun was keeping his golf ball on the straight-and-narrow as he tackled TPC Sawgrass. However, at the par 5 ninth, while one shot back of Rory McIlroy and Akshay Bhatia, Spaun found himself in trouble.

Pushing his second shot at the par 5 ninth, the American found it in the rough and, after discovering it in a brutal lie, was handed a huge slice of luck.

Addressing his ball, Spaun's foot was reportedly on a sprinkler head which, under Rule 16, falls under 'Abnormal Course Conditions.' Because of this, the PGA Tour winner was able to receive relief.

However, the luck didn't stop there for Spaun as, reportedly, he was able to deliberately drop on another sprinkler head, thus receiving another slice of relief which ended up putting him in the fairway.

Speaking on broadcast, caddie Jim 'Bones' Mackay, who now works as an on-course reporter for NBC and Golf Channel, stated "it was fascinating. J.J's ball was in a horrible lie. He was standing on a sprinkler, but nowhere near the fairway.

"He took relief and within that clubhead was another sprinkler. He intentionally dropped it into that sprinkler and got a second club-length away from that and got himself into the fairway."

Following the drop, Spaun stuck his third close to the flag and was able to roll in the putt for birdie to pull alongside McIlroy going into the back nine.

After the birdie, McIlroy fired back at the par 5 11th but, after moving to 12-under-par, play was suspended in Florida due to the threat of lightning in the area.

Although the drop got many golf fans on social media disagreeing and questioning its validity, it's worth noting that what Spaun did was not against the rules.