Rory McIlroy was reminded of that at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Thursday when his tee shot on Spyglass Hill’s par-5 7th hole — his 16th hole of the day — nestled in tangled grass under a pine tree. With no reasonable way out from the horrid lie, McIlroy declared his ball unplayable and took “back-on-the-line” relief, which permits golfers, when dropping, to go as far back as they like on the line from the hole through the spot where their ball lies, for the price of a one-shot penalty.
McIlroy proceeded correctly up until he took his actual drop, a yard or so right of his direct line. That was a no-no, because under Rule 14.3, McIlroy was required to drop his ball on the line. He wasn’t trying to pull a fast one — he just didn’t know the rule, which ended up retroactively costing him two more penalty strokes, resulting in an unsightly 8 on his card.