What is a provisional in golf? Why did Jon Rahm hit twice off No. 18 tee at the Masters?

Jon Rahm won the Augusta Masters last weekend in a fantastic manner, recovering behind Kopeka’s four-stroke lead to win his first ‘Green Jacket.’ Rahm became the fourth Spaniard to win on this mythical course, after Ballesteros, Olazabal, and Garcia. The 28-year-old Rahm is slowly becoming the face of PGA golf, considering he has 11 PGA Tour wins and has won over $48 million during his time on tour.

GOLF:

On his way to winning the 87th edition of Augusta, Rahm had many obstacles along the way, from the horrendous weather for his part of the draw, and conditions close to unplayable, to the provisional ball case, on the 18th hole on Sunday. He rescued par on the last hole after hitting his tee shot into the rough on the left side of the fairway. Before Rahm’s ball could be found, he hit a second provisional ball right down the middle of the fairway. To Rahm’s consolation, the ball from his first tee shot was discovered, and the provisional tee shot was abandoned. Rahm rebounded from the episode to par the final hole for his first Masters win.

‘Provisional ball’ in golf

In golf, a provisional is a term used to refer to an additional golf ball that a player may choose to hit off the tee if their original ball is lost or goes out of bounds. When a golfer hits a shot off the tee, and there is a chance that the ball may be lost or out of bounds, the player can hit a provisional ball to save time and keep the pace of play moving. The provisional ball is played from the exact location of the original ball and is used as a backup in case the original ball cannot be found or is deemed out of bounds.

Suppose the provisional ball is in play and the original ball is not. In that case, the provisional ball becomes the ball in play, and the player continues their round with the provisional ball, incurring the appropriate penalty strokes as applicable. However, if the original ball is found to be in play, the provisional ball is abandoned, and the player continues to play with the actual ball.

It’s important to note that when hitting a provisional ball, the player must announce that they are hitting it and indicate which ball they are playing as temporarily to their fellow competitors. If the player does not announce the intention to hit a provisional ball and the original ball is not found, the player is considered to have played the wrong ball and may incur penalty strokes or be disqualified.