Latest Rules Scandal Dampens Hideki Matsuyama’s Historic Win; Sparks Uproar Among Fans: ‘That’s Not Good’

Looks like many have doubts about Hideki Matsuyama’s three-stroke victory at the Riviera Country Club. The 38-year-old won the Genesis Invitational after acquiring a three-stroke lead over Luke List and Will Zalatoris in the last round.

After Matsuyama had lifted the trophy at Riviera, the clip from his birdie hole made the rounds on the internet. It quickly became a point of debate among golf fans as to whether Matsuyama should have been penalized or not, despite official statements released by experts on the matter.

Hideki Matsuyama’s win gets clean chit from golf analyst

Before scoring a 9 under 62, the lowest round recorded on Riviera CC and his career’s second best, Hideki Matsuyama made a birdie on the 17th hole. At the par-5 second last hole, the second shot met with the rough from where Matsuyama took a third swing. However, the ball had slightly moved.

The golf world had noticed the movement and there was an uproar that a two-stroke penalty should be given to Matsuyama as the lie had probably changed. However, Rules Analyst Mark Dusbabek joined the hosts and cleared up the confusion. He said, “The ball just shifted a little bit but it stayed in its same position.”

The ball has to move to “a different position” for any penalty. The video taken by CBS was first shared by the media company’s X handle. Soon after, NUCLR Golf also re-shared the video with the golf word with a caption reiterating Dusbabek.

The explanation by the rules analyst was pretty clear: the ball had not moved but even after that, the spectators were questioning the decision to not penalize Matsuyama.

Golf world reacts to Matsuyama’s chip on 17th

There were many questions asked about the legality of the play, accusing the rules analyst of only saying things that he was asked to. The golf world did not want Matsuyama to get a pass without facing any repercussions.

Read More: ‘I Was Watching All Day’: Tiger Woods Ends Hideki Matsuyama’s ‘Disappointment’ Despite Illness woes

This user stated that Matsuyama was lucky his ball’s logo side wasn’t visible. If so it would have made it clear if the ball moved or not.

Another user was okay that Matsuyama didn’t lose the event over the ball movement but clarified that he was playing with fire. Moreover, they cleared that it can’t be said with certainty that the ball didn’t shift; the pro shouldn’t have ground his club to not cause doubts.

One fan pulled out an old video of Jon Rahm from 2021 and claimed that Rahm got the two-stroke penalty over the same issue. However, the Tour didn’t assign one to Matsuyama and said, “It’s only a penalty if Rahm does it.”

One user said that Jay Monahan paid the analyst to say that the penalty was ruled out, which left the analyst with no option.

Another user asked a rhetorical question, saying that tapping the club behind the ball, which improved the lie, has become legal now. The analyst had cleared up that the lie hadn’t changed.

One claimed themselves to be a fan of Matsuyama but was not happy and said, “That’s not good.”

This user was taking a jibe at the decision of the analyst as well. They asked if the position of the ball cannot be known statistically and there was a shift in the position, then the ball cannot be in the same lie, hence the “rule needs to be changed.”

There were many who did not agree that it was a penalty swing by Matsuyama but the majority seemed to believe the opposite. Which side are you on? Should Hideki Matsuyama have been given the two-stroke penalty? Tell us in the comments!

Watch This Story | LIV Golf News: 3 Major Takeaways as the $3b PGA Tour-PIF Merger Deadline Gets Extended, Per Reports