Matthew Wolff will start Saturday’s third round of The American Express a short further off the lead after he was retroactively assessed a penalty from Thursday.
After carding a 5-under 67 Friday at PGA West, Wolff was notified by PGA Tour rules official Steve Rintoul that he would be docked one shot after video evidence showed that Wolff had, in fact, violated Rule 9.4b, which states that “if the player lifts or deliberately touches his or her ball at rest or causes it to move, the player gets one penalty stroke.”
Initially, rules official Slugger White had determined there to be no penalty after Wolff’s ball moved in the rough as Wolff was in his backswing for his approach shot at the par-4 first hole on the Stadium Course, his first hole of the opening round.