Why ‘Virtual Certainty’ Allowed Carl Yuan A Controversial Free Drop After Losing His Ball

Rarely does a tournament pass by without a rules controversy of some sort, and this weekend was no different with Carl Yuan’s free drop at the Sony Open in Hawaii picking up a lot of attention.

Yuan was in a five-way tie for the lead at 16-under-par playing the par-5 18th, but his chances of victory lengthened when he found a fairway bunker off the tee, and even more so when his second went way right towards a hospitality tent down the right side of the fairway.

The Chinese player’s ball wasn’t found, but a PGA Tour rules official granted the 26-year-old a free drop in the short grass two club lengths from the hospitality stand, which was ruled as a Temporary Immovable Obstruction (TIO).

Yuan was unable to take advantage of the break and made par, with Grayson Murray eventually coming through a three-man playoff after three players finished on 17-under.

However, it did not stop an eruption of comments on social media, with many criticising the TIO rule.

Shortly after the incident, Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis reported that a rules official said there was “virtual certainty” from video evidence and fans in the stand that the ball was lost in the tent.

According to the USGA and R&A, if a player’s ball is not found but is known or virtually certain to have come to rest in a TIO, “the player may take relief by using the estimated point where the ball last crossed the edge of the TIO on the course as the spot of the ball for purposes of finding the nearest point of complete relief.”

The video shows a white ball flying near the white tent before it disappears.

“Virtually certain” is a bit of a grey area to say the least.

Journalist Kyle Porter, joked: “I told my wife this morning that I was virtually certain I closed the garage door. Doesn't make it true.”

Yuan might not have been able to benefit from the free drop, but his incredible final-round 63 (-7) did earn him a tie for fourth, a tournament he would not even have played in had it not been for Jon Rahm joining LIV.

Yuan moved from 126 to 125th to gain his full card after the Spaniard decided to part ways with the PGA Tour, and his lofty finish in Hawaii also saw him jump 50 spots to number 135 in the Official World Golf ranking.