As the Presidents Cup enters Day 2, one moment from Thursday’s opening session has come back into the spotlight. During the Four-ball match between Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im and best friends Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, Lee was granted relief on the 17th hole, causing a delay. Charlie Hulme has now revealed what happened, explaining the situation to Smylie Kaufman on The Smylie Show. 

“So, Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns hit the middle of the green, as does Sungjae Im. Min Woo Lee goes long left, and he ends up here. You can see three pictures in a row. He ends up behind some cables, and what he was asking for relief was so that he could putt the ball up the back of that hill,” Hulme said. “And so they’re trying to work on the rules official out there. 

“You can see in this middle picture, they had to tear cables out of the ground so that he could get enough tension out of it to move it back. And you see in this last picture, he’s putting his driver down and trying to get relief there. He takes relief. Then he putts it up, leaves it about 8 feet short… That took at least like 10-15 minutes.”

Relief, of course, refers to the rules that allow a player to move their ball from a difficult or obstructed position. Depending on the situation, a player can receive free relief or take penalty relief. Free relief applies when an immovable obstruction, ground under repair, temporary water, or an embedded ball interferes with the player’s shot, stance, or swing. 

The player generally finds the nearest point of complete relief and drops within one club-length without penalty. Alternatively, if the ball is deemed unplayable, the player can take penalty relief under Rule 19, which carries a one-stroke penalty and allows options such as dropping within two club-lengths, going back on the line, or replaying the previous shot.

Regardless, after the situation was cleared up, the match continued. And, as you may know by now, Scottie Scheffler and Burns edged the match 1-up. Later, Justin Thomas and rookie Jackson Koivun cruised to a 4&3 victory over Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria. Meanwhile, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa defeated Ryan Fox and Adam Scott 3&2.

The Internationals responded with two wins of their own. Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune beat Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele 3&1, and Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim closed out the day by defeating Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay 3&2. The result leaves the Americans with a slim 3-2 lead heading into Friday’s Foursomes at Medinah Country Club.

With the Friday foursomes ahead, the round will feature five matches at the venue. The U.S. team will send out a number of established pairings as it looks to build on its advantage. Scheffler and Burns will lead off for the U.S. against Corey Conners and Nick Taylor, the elusive all-Canadian pairing.

The second match pits Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman against Sungjae Im and Hideki Matsuyama. Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa will then take on Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee in the third match. Justin Thomas and Cameron Young will face Adam Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout in the fourth contest. 

Meanwhile, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele will close out the session against South Korea’s Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim. For the International team, Ryo Hisatsune and Nico Echavarria are among those sitting out the foursomes. On the U.S. side, Brandt Snedeker has rested rookies Jackson Koivun and Chris Gotterup for the session. 

That said, it would be interesting to see how Min Woo Lee bounces back from his loss with help from the Open winner Ryan Fox.