Pavin penalized for moving ball at U.S. Senior Open
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Pavin penalized for moving ball at U.S. Senior Open

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Corey Pavin thought he had ended the day tied with Tom Kite for the lead at the U.S. Senior Open in Lake Orion, Mich. Instead, a penalty he was assessed left him two behind the '92 U.S. Open champion.

At the par-3 fifth hole, his 14th of the day, Pavin struck a chip shot near the green after it had moved from its original position. A U.S.  Golf Association rules official consulted with Pavin after the round, showing him video of the incident.

"Corey addressed his pitch shot from near the green, set the club down several times and eventually the ball moved," said Jeff Hall, USGA senior director of rules and amateur status, according to the Detroit Free-Press.

Pavin agreed he had broken rule 18-2 and tacked on two shots to his round - one for making the ball move as he was addressing it and another for not moving it back before hitting his second shot. His 5-under 65 had become 67.

"That's the rules, and they were enforced properly, and I saw it on tape, and it's definitely what happened," Pavin said. "The ball moved. I didn't think it did when I was out on the golf course. I thought the ball had oscillated and come back to its position. It was obvious on camera that it had not come back to its position. I'm glad they were out there because I wouldn't want to break any rules. I was glad they brought it to my attention."

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Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is a scratch golfer...sometimes.

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