Golf fans all say same thing as PGA Tour pro docked stroke for waiting too long

Austin Eckroat was docked a stroke to his score on the par-5 11th after he waited longer than 10 seconds for his ball to drop into the cup, and it left a number of fans all saying the same thing about golf rules on the PGA Tour. 

Eckroat left his 30-footer for birdie on the 11th over the edge of the cup.

Under the rules of golf, players have 10 seconds to tap the ball into the cup once they have walked up to the hole. 

The rule in question in case you were wondering is Rule 13.3a. 

After the 10 seconds when a ball is on the edge of the cup, the ball is considered at rest regardless if it is oscillating or not. 

Players are permitted a 'reasonable' amount of time to reach the hole, but the time allowed must be determined by the player in question and their playing partner(s). 

The putt eventually dropped, but since Eckroat had waited longer than 10 seconds when he was up by the hole, the stroke did not count and his score turned from a birdie-four into a par-five. 

Eckroat went on to card a dismal 76 to finish T47 on 4-under par. 

Here's a look at what happened on 11:

Since the ball took longer than 10 seconds to drop, a stroke was added to Austin Eckroat's score and was counted as a par. pic.twitter.com/xwhGBzIy8z

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 17, 2024

Golf fans were all left saying the same thing after learning more about the rule to hit Eckroat hard. 

Some believe the ruling is unfair given a number of players are regularly seen taking over a minute to line up their putts.

• Golf fans disgusted with Brian Harman's action at The Players

Others consider it is impossible to hit a moving ball. 

Here's how a number of golf fans reacted: 

What do you make of this ruling? Was Austin Eckroat unfortunate to be docked a stroke to his score? Have you ever experienced something like this on the course? Share your thoughts over on the GolfMagic social media channels.

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