Kevin Kisner still remembers a rules dispute from almost 10 years ago, and interestingly, it still makes him somewhat irritated. The four-time PGA Tour winner and NBC Sports lead golf analyst detailed the incident on the Fore Play podcast. Kisner talked about a tense moment with an R&A Rules official during the 2016 Open Championship.
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Kisner set the scene from the 18th hole at Royal Troon, in a downpour, with the pin tucked in the back. “I just laced a three iron right at the flag. As soon as I hit it, I just grabbed the umbrella and started walking,” Kisner detailed, adding that a rules official stopped him immediately, telling him he would need to replay the shot because his ball had gone out of bounds.
“I just lost it,” Kisner said. “I just hit the best three iron in my life at the flag. I said, ‘There’s no out of bounds. What are you talking about?’ Well, at this particular course, at the back of the green, there is a walkaway. It’s 15 feet from the back of the green. And they called this rock walkaway out of bounds. I was telling him to call the entire R&A staff out there out in the rain so they can see what I was playing in. I said I could kick this freaking ball in the hole [from the walkaway], and you are telling me it’s out of bounds?”
The out-of-bounds ruling created an unusual situation. Kisner thought the rocky walkway would definitely be a place from which he could just hack a recovery shot. But according to the official rule, it was considered an OB. But the funny thing was that his caddie, Duane “Dewey” Bock, was already aware of the OB but still didn’t stop Kisner from arguing. Why?
Well, Kisner, who hails from Aiken, said he normally uses casual language and slang when talking with his friends and caddies. Quite naturally, the rules officials at Open Championships did not always understand the way he spoke, which made the conversation difficult. His caddie was enjoying the situation as Kisner tried to make his point to a baffled rules official who didn’t fully understand what Kisner was trying to say.
However, the week was also a difficult one for Kisner on the course. He opened with rounds of 70 and 72 at Royal Troon before shooting an 80 in the third round and a 76 on Sunday. He finished the championship at 14-over 298 and tied for 76.
People remember the 2016 Open, however, for the legendary, record-shattering final-round duel between Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson. Stenson shot a flawless 8-under 63 in the final round, tying the lowest closing score in men’s major history, and finished 20-under par. Mickelson shot a bogey-free 6-under 65, a score that would likely have won most other majors.
Almost 10 years later, Kisner still remembers the incident clearly. For him, the story is not only about where the ball ended up. It is also about the confusion between him and the rules official, with both sides struggling to understand each other as heavy rain fell around them.