At the 2025 John Deere Classic, Kevin Roy was in contention when he found himself in a bunker on the 11th hole on Saturday. After struggling to hit the ball out of the sand, a Rules official permitted Roy to rake his footprint, deeming it “wasn’t in his line of play.” However, fans didn’t buy it, accusing Roy of “abusing” the PGA Tour rule. Roy later defended himself, clarifying his ball’s position relative to the footprint and suggesting critics “give the official a phone call, maybe he’ll answer you?” And for two golf insiders, the blame lies not with Roy but with the PGA Tour regarding the ruling.

Recently, Andy Johnson and Brenden Porath sat down for a discussion on the recent episode of Fried Egg Golf. While talking about this recent Kevin Roy controversy, Porath begins, “Why have it raked, if it’s immaterial to your shot? Why have it raked?” Johnson chimes in, “The rules official right there. And I got to say, I think this is all the fault of the PGA Tour rules official and their laissez-faire lacks, uh, interpretations of the rules of golf because it, this made… this opened up…”

This isn’t the first time confusion has arisen around the interpretation of bunker “raking” on the PGA Tour. A similar controversy arose at the 2025 Mexico Open when Jake Knapp faced a penalty for touching sand with his club in frustration. Initially given a two-stroke penalty, officials later rescinded it, sparking debate over the Tour’s relaxed rule interpretations.

In Kevin Roy’s case, the ruling that fans accused him of “abusing” was the same as Jake Knapp’s USGA Rule 12.2b(2). As per this rule, players can rake a bunker for course care before playing, as long as they aren’t testing the bunker or enhancing conditions for their next shot. This rule applies to improving the lie, stance, swing area, or line of play. Rule 12.2b(2) allows players to rake the sand for course care without penalty, but the subjective interpretation of what qualifies as “improving the conditions for your next stroke” can lead to differing opinions.

And it has, if Johnson’s and Porath’s discussions are any indication. However, Johnson also criticizes Roy’s defense: “And no matter what, like the guy goes on Twitter, he’s defending himself at night. That, that’s not good. That’s not what he should be doing the night before a chance to win a golf tournament.” 

Given the controversy, Roy hit up social media and explained his controversial move, “First off I called a rules official over. TV made the foot print look much closer than it actually was, and since the foot print was not in my way of playing the next shot we were able to Rake it, now if the foot print was in the way, therefore would not be able to Rake it.” Roy eventually finished T3 at the 2025 John Deere Classic. 

However, amid the controversy, Orlando Pope, an experienced PGA Tour rules official, explained the ruling. “Well, since he played his ball from the bunker, he has already tested the area, so it’s not in his line of play. He can rake that, that’s what he was asking.” Roy’s situation was fortunate – if his ball had rolled back into his footprints, he wouldn’t have gotten relief. Instead, it stopped just short, giving him a favorable ruling. However, amid this controversy, Kevin Roy is already planning for the future.

Kevin Roy is “really enjoying it and having fun” amid the rules controversy

Kevin Roy currently ranks 88th in the FedEx Cup standings and has reached 152nd in the world rankings—career-high positions that seemed nearly impossible just a few years ago. “I am just feeling more and more comfortable out here,” Roy said Saturday at the 2025 John Deere Classic. “I have been swinging it really well for the past few months, recently started working with a new putting coach, and have been working hard on the greens, so it’s nice to see what I’m working on paying off some.”

His breakthrough came just a week ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, where he opened with an impressive 62 that tied the tournament record. This performance helped him secure a T-8 finish in Detroit, marking his second top-10 result of the season and the fourth of his career. In just 49 PGA Tour starts, he has now doubled his total of top-10 finishes.

With his current position at 88th in the FedEx Cup standings, he needs to finish within the top 100 to maintain his playing privileges for the next season. “The obvious goal is to finish the year inside the top 100. But you know, I believe I can compete and win out here, so I’m just really going to keep trying to do what I have been doing, keep working hard and see where it can take me. I’ve got to be honest, I haven’t really felt any pressure from playing good. I’m just really enjoying it and having fun.”

Kevin Roy’s statistics this season highlight a player who has achieved consistency in all areas of his game. He ranks third on tour in scoring average at 69.36 and fifth in par-4 scoring. So, despite the ongoing controversy, the golfer is likely to keep his focus on the rest of the season.