Justin Thomas called a penalty on himself Saturday at the RBC Heritage after his ball moved while he was removing loose impediments in a waste area.
Thomas entered the weekend with his first 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour since the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open. But his momentum hit a snag on the par-5 second hole at Harbour Town when his tee shot found the left waste area.
While preparing to play his second shot, Thomas began removing some loose impediments around his ball. That’s when he noticed something concerning – his ball moved slightly.
Name
Events
Top 10
Money
Justin Thomas
240
81
$59,705,364
He immediately called for a rules official, who confirmed Thomas was in a waste area, not a bunker. Players are allowed to remove loose impediments in waste areas, but if they cause their ball to move in the process, it’s a one-shot penalty.
“My ball did move down a fraction because there’s just some stuff around it, and I was moving rocks,” Thomas explained to the official.
When asked if he felt he caused the ball to move, Thomas didn’t hesitate: “I would think so.”
The honesty cost him. Thomas went on to hole a 3-foot putt that would have been a birdie, but with the penalty, it counted as a par instead.
