Australia’s Cam Smith had himself an adventure after his tee shot sailed left on the 484-yard 18th hole at Aronimink – his ninth hole of the day – Thursday morning in the opening round of the 108th PGA Championship.
Smith, 2-under and one stroke off the lead at the time, made his way to the ball which was just outside the structure housing ESPN’s broadcast booth. Drone footage showed Smith and his ball surrounded by temporary structures.
With the ESPN broadcast booth obstructing his line to, well, anywhere near the hole, it took several minutes and multiple officials to determine Smith’s options.
“There’s two announce booth buildings over there,” said Tom Carpus from the PGA of America Rules Committee. “He’s going to need to drop it to the nearest side. It’s not an either side situation. It looks like he may need to go to the player’s left towards those bushes.”
That’s what Smith did. He was given relief from the immovable obstructions and once some wires and fans were cleared, Smith played his second shot back into the fairway. His third shot found the far-left side of the green and he two-putted for an adventurous bogey.
