Even at the 200th start on the PGA Tour, the 29-year-old Cal native has lost his chance for maiden victory once again. The Tour was in Mississippi for the Sanderson Farms Championship, the second event of the Fall season. The PGA Tour University alum Kevin Yu surged for a victory at the $7.6 m event, only after Hossler faced a gut-wrenching loss. Victory could have been his if his requests for a TIO relief had been accepted. What happened was at the par-4 18th hole when Hossler’s ball was directly behind a tree from the green.
At that moment, he called a rule official for a Temporary Immovable Obstruction Relief according to model local rule F-23, which takes grandstands, tenets, scoreboards, etc. as a TIO. Hossler asked for a TIO relief as he addressed a grandstand to the left of the tree as an obstruction in his line of sight. Hossler explained everything, but the rule official denied the request. The 29-year-old pro pleaded, “Don’t I get relief if that’s between me and the pin, the grandstand, and that scoreboard?”
Another rule official was called to the situation, but he deemed the same ruling. To make his argument that the grandstand was in his way, Hossler asked, “What if I just told you I was aiming right at the [left] tent?” James Colgan of GOLF reported on X. But he was still given the same verdict and made an up and won from there for par to tie the event with Kevin Yu and lose it out on the playoff. Talking to the media afterward, Hossler said, “I’m a little disappointed with the outcome. I’m a little salty right now.”
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Wild golf rules situation at the Sanderson Farms.
Beau Hossler appeared to be arguing for TIO relief on theoretical grounds to get a free drop from behind a tree.
“What if I just told you I was aiming right at the [left] tent?”
2 officials eventually denied the request pic.twitter.com/dfjWEFB7EC
— James Colgan (@jamescolgan26) October 6, 2024
Is Beau Hossler’s plea for relief a desperate move or a strategic play? React!
But it was not just him who was salty about the whole ruling fiasco at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Even the fans were frustrated with it, but it was not in favor of the 29-year-old pro.
The golf world accuses Beau Hossler of cheating
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It was snot-hustled Beau Hossler who was frustrated after his request for TIO relief was denied, but the fans were also pretty annoyed by the PGA Tour pro’s constant pleas. For one, just like the rule officials, the fans also believed that Hossler should not get any relief. And although he didn’t, his asking for it offended many in the golf world. One fan angrily commented, “This is virtually cheating.” Notably, Hossler didn’t cheat, as the officials denied his request, and even if it was given, it couldn’t be regarded as cheating. Yet another commented, “He’s literally attempting to cheat to make up for a shitty drive… Good in the PGA Tour for putting a stop to this nonsense.”
Another fan reciprocated similar frustration with Hossler. It was the 200th start on the PGA Tour for Hossler, as previously said, and the 29-year-old would have been quite desperate for a victory. Thus, he requested a TIO relief similar to what Matt Kuchar received at the 18th hole of the Wyndham Championship in August At that time, a scoreboard was considered a temporary immovable object, but Hossler’s demand of a grandstand being in his line of sight was denied. Yet it enraged this fan, as they said, “This is insane. Such a desperate, not in the spirit of the game kinda move Beau is trying to pull. He should be ashamed of himself. Even more than that drive.”
The University of Texas alum had been part of the PGA Tour since 2018, which was the year when Hossler was close to winning his maiden title against Ian Poulter at the Houston Open. But he lost in a sudden-death playoff. Since then, it has been seven years, and the 29-year-old is still unable to win a PGA Tour event or many supportive fans. As this fan noted, “Good for the rules officials. Beau is really hard to root for as it is, then crap like this makes it even worse.”
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