Pro disputes that he switched balls prior to Rose penalty
Taylor Moore would like to set the record straight.
“Unfortunately, this article isn’t remotely close to what happened,” Moore said Saturday, mentioning a headline that read: A rare rules incident burned Justin Rose at the Sentry – as did miscommunication.
The incident occurred in Thursday’s opening round at Kapalua. Moore was grouped with Justin Rose and Andrew Putnam. On the seventh hole, a 537-yard par-4, Rose hit what he thought was his ball, a Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot with a ‘2’ on it. It turned out to be Moore’s, and after correcting the mistake and adding two penalty strokes for violating Rule 6.3c(1), Rose went on to card double bogey. (He shot 40-31 for an opening 2-under 72 and was seven shots off the lead after 18 holes.)
“First day back at work after the festive period was interesting … I hit the wrong ball on the 7th,” Rose tweeted afterward.
There was more to the story, though one major detail reported by multiple outlets, including Golf Channel’s broadcast, is now being disputed by Moore.
Golf Channel showed the television footage during Friday’s coverage, and Rose is picked up by the on-course mic telling Moore, though somewhat unclearly, “You’ve been playing a ‘2,’ though. That was a ‘2.’”
Moore replies, “I know, this one’s a ‘2.’ We both started with a ‘1.’”
Rose interjects, “And just switched to ‘2’s.”
“I know,” Moore answers. “Sorry, dude. I – wow.”
Golf Channel’s Curt Byrum then talks about how players notifying their competitors that they’ve changed balls or numbers isn’t required but is usually done out of “courtesy.” Byrum then says that Moore “didn’t do that on the seventh tee.”
Byrum's comments along with the audio of the incident sure made it seem like Moore had, in fact, changed to a ball with a '2' on it. But Moore, who like Rose has not been requested to the flash area this week and therefore does not have a transcript discussing the matter, is saying that’s not what happened.
“Have to clarify this as it paints me out to be someone who doesn’t communicate with my playing partners or respect the unwritten rules of the game,” Moore tweeted on Saturday. “I actually never switched balls. Only played 1’s all day.”
Moore added in another tweet, responding to another article: “I didn’t change my ball. I played 1’s all day. Rosey would confirm that as well. He’s one of the best guys out here, ultimate pro, and hated to see him do that. Unfortunate situation and fluke deal.”
GolfChannel.com has sent a message to Moore asking for further details of what happened.
