British Open 2017: Jon Rahm not penalized for moving plant on 17th

Spaniard Jon Rahm finished his opening round at the Open Championship at 1-over 69. It could have been worse. He initially appeared to draw a two-stroke penalty for moving a plant on the 17th hole at Royal Birkdale, which at the time gave him a seven on the hole. Later review by officials revealed he did not improve his lie on the hole, giving him a par 5.

“I explained my opinion afterwards, because at the point I thought I had a two stroke penalty and played the last two holes like that,” Rahm said after his round. “They came to the conclusion it is a fine line but I was not improving my lie, so in that case it was not a penalty.”

Rahm said when he got to his ball, he found a large plant — “with thorns in it” — about an inch and a half from his ball. Figuring it was a loose impediment, he made the decision to move it away from the ball.

The rule in question was the R&A’s 13-2: “A player must not improve or allow to be improved ... by moving, bending or breaking anything growing or fixed.”

“It was never on my swing path towards the pin,” Rahm said. “It was never on my intended lie. When I got there, I thought it was a loose impediment. I just picked it up and moved it to the side.

“We consulted a rules official. Strictly by the rules, moving one of those it is a two-stroke penalty. But the question was did I improve my lie or not? I explained my version. I didn’t think I improved my lie. It was never going to be any kind of close to my swing path, especially my 6-iron.”

That wasn’t Rahm’s only escape on the 17th, however. He appeared to put his fourth shot into the bunker to the right of the green, only to have the ball curl around the outside and wind up a short putt away from the hole.

Jordan Spieth, Matt Kuchar, and Brooks Koepka lead after the first round, each at 5-under 65. Rahm is tied at 26th.