Final Group Involved In Unique Ruling At Players Championship

Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia were both involved in a bizarre moment during the third round of The Players Championship, with both forced to hit from the range

Min Woo Lee looks for a ball in the bushes, Akshay Bhatia at the top of his backswing
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Rules of Golf continue to throw up surprises each and every week and, at The Players Championship, the final group were involved in a bizarre incident during the third round.

Teeing off last were Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia and, in testing conditions at TPC Sawgrass, both made a hash of the fifth hole, with both forced to take interesting drops after wayward tee shots.

Min Woo Lee looks at his golf ball in a bush

(Image credit: Getty Images)

At the par 4 fifth, Lee and Bhatia carved their tee shots left and, after locating them, were forced to take unplayable lies which ended up being on TPC Sawgrass' driving range.

Essentially, the golf balls were located in a bush and after taking unplayable lies, they were able to drop as far back as they would like, keeping the spot of the ball between the hole and where the ball is dropped. This rule falls under 'Rule 19 - Unplayable Ball'.

In the end, both Lee and Bhatia dropped around 60 yards back, leaving them more than 250 yards from the hole for their third shot. Following the drop, both made double bogeys with it taking around 25 minutes to complete the fifth hole.

Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia's fifth hole

(Image credit: PGATour.Com/Tourcast)

It's not the first time Bhatia has been involved in a rules drama in 2025. During the second round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Bhatia found himself in trouble off the tee on the 13th hole.

Faced with no real option, the 22-year-old opted to chip out and on to the eighth fairway which, at the time, didn't seem to be an issue. However, after doing so, it was revealed that the eighth fairway was deemed to be internal out of bounds for those playing the 13th. Therefore, Bhatia had hit into an out of bounds area, thus receiving a penalty.

After the fifth, Bhatia parred the sixth before back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth kept him in contention. In terms of Lee, he followed his double bogey with a bogey at the seventh and ninth for a four-over front nine of 40.

Matt Cradock
Staff Writer

Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover weekend news and social media, as well as help look after Golf Monthly’s many buyers’ guides and equipment reviews.

Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. He currently plays at Witney Lakes in Oxfordshire and his favourite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.

Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?

Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2, 15°, 19°

Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid, 22°

Irons: Mizuno MP54, 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°

Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.