The world of golf was abuzz with controversy after Bernhard Langer’s recent win at the PNC Championship. While some hailed his victory as a testament to his skill and experience, others cried foul, accusing him of bending the rules to get ahead. But what really happened, and was Langer truly in the wrong?

Scrambles differ from traditional golf in an important way: When players decide which shots they will play, they can place their balls within one club-length of the original spots. That generally results in ideal lies in the fairway. Balls that find hazards, bunkers, rough, natural areas, or the fringe may also be picked up and placed within a club length but typically must stay within the “same condition”, that is, in most scrambles, including at the PNC, tournament organizers do not permit players to move a ball from, say, a bunker to the fairway.

Such a situation played out on Sunday at the PNC after Bernhard and his son, Jason had played their tee shots on the par-5 14th, at which point they were tied for the lead at 24 under with the Woods’. After Jason heeled his drive into the water up the left, the Langers had to play Bernhard’s ball, which landed in what looked to be a bunker on the left side of the fairway. But it was deemed a natural area, which meant the Langers were free to make contact with the sand with their practice swings.

Upon arriving at the ball, the father and son noticed a small clump of sand within a club length of their orb. They recognized that the tiny tower could in effect act as a tee for one of their shots, they collectively decided that, strategically, it would make the most sense for their best ball striker Bernhard to take advantage of the rules break and place his ball upon the mound. While some saw this as a clever move, others felt it was unfair and went against the spirit of the game. On the December 24 episode of the Drop Zone by Golf Podcast, the hosts dug into the controversy surrounding Langer’s win.

“It’s not in the spirit of this event,” one critic is quoted. “The reason it’s a controversy is because, you know, if you just look at things in screenshots, it will appear as though he actually, like pushed sand together to yeah, to make a mound of dirt, which was not the case”, said the critic. Langer’s tactics were also compared to those of his competitor Tiger Woods, with some suggesting that Woods would not have made a similar move. “I don’t think Tiger would have done that.” However, Tiger was wowed with Bernhard’s antics.

After the incident, Jason hit first, from a more challenging lie. He caught a fairway wood fat and popped up his ball into the middle of the fairway but a long way out from the green. Then it was Bernhard’s turn. Knowing he could tee up his ball and with only a small lip to carry, he made an aggressive club selection: driver.

“What do you think of this play?” announcer Dan Hicks said on the NBC broadcast, looking at that. “I’m loving every second of it, Dan,” on-course reporter Jim “Bones” Mackay replied. “I think he thinks because he can place the ball so nicely, he can get a lot of club on the ball here and get the ball up on the green.”

Bernhard didn’t quite reach the green, but he came close. His ball carried approximately 230 yards before it settled into a bunker fronting the green. Later, Tiger Woods described it as “one of the best shots I’ve ever seen.” From there, he and Jason got up and down for a birdie 4. Interestingly, Bernhard knew that they were not the crowd favorite and he acknowledged it after the win.

Top Comment by Tommy

Rules are rules. Can’t challenge that. End of discussion.

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“I know most of you would’ve loved to have had Tiger here, and Charlie. I’m convinced they’re going to win this several times in the near future. They’re just too good. … It won’t take them long, I promise you that,” Bernhard said. He also added that he considers the tournament his “fifth Major.” “I just love playing with my kids. … And I truly enjoyed playing with Tiger and Charlie. They are such wonderful competitors and great human beings. It was fun to see the two of them out there together, and when Charlie made that hole-in-one, I’ve never seen Tiger happier,” Bernhard stated.

Bernhard and his son combined to shoot 28 under. That is the same as the Woods duo, and they entered a two-hole playoff that Langers took away. Langer eagled the 18th hole to secure victory but Charlie Woods’ ace was probably the highlight. Notably, the Woods and the Langers were five strokes ahead of the three teams tied for third.

Despite this, the controversy has sparked a larger debate about the nature of golf and the importance of sportsmanship. Was Langer’s move clever gamesmanship, or did it cross a line? The answer, it seems, depends on who you ask.

What did Bernhard Langer say about the controversy?

As the screen grabs of Bernhard’s perched lie started making rounds, Tiger Woods’s former coach Hank Haney responded, “Was that a clump that happened to be within a club length of his ball and no closer to the hole?” But Bernhard’s move was actually totally legit. The PGA Tour Champions chief rules official, Joe Terry, gave it the thumbs up, saying Langer was “in complete compliance with the rules for a scramble”.

Bernhard acknowledged in a phone interview with GOLF.com that he’d gotten “very fortunate” with his lie, but even if he’d had a less favorable lie, he said, he thought the result of his second shot would have been similar. In that case, Bernhard said, he likely would have hit a fairway wood instead of a driver and come up just short of the greenside bunker, which still would left him and Jason an excellent chance at getting up and down. Bernhard added that there also happened to be a footprint in the vicinity of his ball, which, if he had placed his ball on the imprint’s edge, also would have given him a similarly elevated lie.

He was full of praise for his son Jason’s putt, saying “I thought he made it… When his ball was six feet from the hole, it was supposed to break a little left and it didn’t. It just stayed there. I was almost in shock that he didn’t make it because he hit such a pure putt.” He even credited Jason’s putt with helping him gauge the break, which allowed him to sink the winning putt. And in a pretty classy move, Langer acknowledged that sometimes you just get lucky in golf, saying “When you catch a break, you’d be wise to take it”. What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.