Sam Burns picked up his golf ball without marking its position first. For a moment, it looked like he might get a two-shot penalty for breaking the rules. However, no penalty was given.

The incident happened on the 16th green during the third round of the RBC Canadian Open on Saturday, June 13, at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. Burns, a then 26-year-old golfer, had just missed a 15-foot putt for par on the par-4 hole.

As he prepared to tap in, Burns noticed his ball had moved on its own. He informed playing partner Ben James, replaced and marked the ball, then holed out for bogey.

Clips of the moment spread quickly on social media. Many fans assumed Burns had broken the rules, as reported by Golfmagic.

One fan posted, "Sam Burns just picked his ball up with no marker… You need to start stroking guys!!"

A PGA Tour rules official joined the broadcast as speculation grew and confirmed Burns would be spoken to after the round. The discussion cleared up the situation before he signed his scorecard.

Burns' actions were fully permitted under rule 13.1d, which require a ball moved, to be replaced to its original spot before play continues. That is exactly what he did.

Burns noticed that his ball had accidentally moved from its position. After checking with James, he replaced it in its original spot and continued without penalty.

Had he moved the ball without a valid reason, he would have received a two-stroke penalty.

Burns went on to make bogey on the 16th and birdie on the 18th for a 1-under 69, leaving him at 10-under par, three shots behind leader Jackson Suber heading into Sunday's final round.

A Similar Ball-Marking Controversy

Golf fans may remember a similar incident involving Collin Morikawa at the 2023 Masters, when a ball-marking moment also went viral and raised questions about the rules.

He was cleared of any rule violation after a video from the first round of the 2023 Masters went viral on April 6.

The video made it look like he moved his marker forward after replacing his ball on the 6th green. However, a longer video later showed that the ball had rolled backward, and he was only putting it back where it had been before.

Paul McGinley said on Sky Sports in 2023 that officials reviewed the incident and cleared Morikawa of any wrongdoing.

If they had found that he did not place the ball back in its exact original spot, he would have received a two-stroke penalty under Rule 14 of the Rules of Golf.

Read more at Club Golf!

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav