The last round of the 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans is about to begin, but only after a delay. After a night of rainfall, the fairways are still damp, making the conditions at TPC Louisiana not unfavorable for golf. So the tournament officials have decided to make a few alterations to the event.

The start of the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is delayed by 60 minutes, with the first tee time now scheduled for 10:30 a.m. local time. Preferred lies are in effect for round four. The officials had implemented the rule during the third round as well, and that caused a lot of backlash from the community.

Yesterday, there was a 98% chance of rainfall on the course, and that had brought the controversial rule into play. The weather report for the final round also shows a 70% chance of precipitation in the middle of the day. Having the preferred lies rule in effect will help the players tackle it conveniently.

Fans were left furious with the PGA Tour’s decision to apply the rule, especially because the conditions weren’t so drastic that the players should receive relief.

One of the supporters wrote, “Why? I swear the PGA is running by fu–ing morons,” questioning the Tour’s methods. Another said, “Lift, clean, and cheat in a team competition. What could possibly go wrong?”

Interestingly, the top pros in the game have a different view of the situation than their fans. Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler had questioned the PGA of America for not implementing the rule in last year’s PGA Championship.

“When you think about the purest test of golf, I don’t personally think that hitting the ball in the middle of the fairway, you should get punished for,” the world #1 told the media.

Spieth also had similar views as he told the reporters at Augusta National, “Mud balls can affect this tournament significantly, especially when you get them a lot on 11 and 13. They’re just daggers on those two holes.”

It’s evident how much the top golfers in the world struggle when the fairways are damp. So their frustration over the rule not being in effect is justified. But the viewers don’t perceive the situation that way.

The golf community’s views about the rule are still consistent. If not required, the fans believe that allowing the players to change the position of the ball is cheating. However, they will still be relieved that the relief is not as advantageous as it used to be.

The modified preferred lies rule benefits the players and satisfies the fans as well

The 2025 season saw many events bring the preferred lies rule into play. Some big events, like the TOUR Championship, gave the pros a huge advantage on the field. But Matt Fitzpatrick and his brother won’t get the same benefits this year.

The three consecutive rounds of preferred lies at East Lake caused a huge uproar from the golf community. Fans complained that Scottie Scheffler & Co. were getting an unfair advantage to stay on top of the leaderboard. So Brian Rolapp decided to alter it.

After facing so much backlash, Rolapp modified the rule to be less advantageous. This season, the players have only been allowed to move the ball one full scorecard length, which is 11 inches, from the average club length, which was 46 inches.

So the golfers can’t drop their ball more than 11 inches away from the landing point. That will significantly reduce the advantage they can get out of the situation. Hopefully, the netizens won’t complain about it as much.