Anirban Lahiri was disqualified for one hole of the 2017 Presidents Cup after it dawned on officials that the India native had broken the Rules of Golf on the prior hole.
You see, Lahiri hit a practice bunker shot on the second hole at Liberty National Golf Club, which is a violation of Rule 7-2 of the Rules of Golf, which dictates when players can hit practice strokes during a round.
.@anirbangolf hit a practice shot out of a bunker.
He is therefore disqualified from the next hole.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/IlX594EAIB
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 29, 2017
Players can practice between the play of two holes in three places:
- the putting green of the hole last played,
- any practice putting green, or
- the teeing ground of the next hole to be played in the round, provided a practice stroke is not made from a hazard and does not unduly delay play
In other words, Lahiri practicing from a bunker is against the Rules of Golf. The penalty in match play is loss of hole, or, in Lahiri's case, it's disqualification from the next hole played. In stroke play, the penalty is two strokes.
So, Lahiri couldn't help out Charl Schwartzel in the fourballs match on the third hole. However, Schwartzel made par and the Internationals tied Charley Hoffman and Kevin Chappell to remain 2 Down through three holes in the match.
