Can you touch the sand in the bunker?
Here’s how my colleague Sean Zak astutely described it in his story on the incident from Friday morning: “Rule 12.1/a states that before making a stroke at a ball in a bunker, a player must not deliberately touch sand in the bunker with a hand, club, rake or other object to test the condition of the sand to learn information for the next stroke.
What happened to Oliva Pinto’s caddie in the bunker?
“Guys, Oliva Pinto’s caddie climbed down into the bunker, knelt down and felt the surface of the sand with his hand, trying to determine the kind of depth there,” he says. The camera pans to Brewer, in animated conversation with a rules official as Oliva Pinot stands by uncertainly. Initially, the replays are inconclusive.
Was Brewer’s Bunker test inconclusive?
Initially, the replays are inconclusive. Brewer adamantly pleads his innocence, the rules official calls for backup and Oliva Pinto stands by, swinging his wedge. When confronted with the potential rules violation — testing the surface of the bunker — Brewer shakes his head. “I didn’t,” he says, several times. Eventually Strafaci Jr. chimes in.