Rickie Fowler has described the changes to dropping a ball as “terrible” after being punished at the WGC-Mexico Championship.
World number nine Fowler fell victim to the new rules at the start of his second round at the Club de Golf Chapultepec in Naucalpan after he was handed a one-shot penalty for not dropping the ball properly.
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After shanking his second shot out of bounds, the 30-year-old American dropped a ball from shoulder height instead of from knee height, with this new rule having come into effect from the start of the year.
Speaking about the incident and the new rule changes after his round, Fowler slammed the decision to tweak this part of the game and believes it will go back to normal at some point.
“I think, with the new rules that have been put in place, it’s not doing any favours for our sport,” he was quoted as saying by USA Today.
“I think it will definitely be changed. “We have been making fun of the knee drop for so long that it was ingrained the first time I took a drop this year.
Like, ‘This is an iconic moment. I get to drop from my knee and look stupid.’ So, no, like I said, it was on me, but I think it’s a terrible change.”
