Give Zach Johnson credit — a few embarrassing mishaps on the tee box have not caused him to rethink the way he approaches practice swings.
For the second time in a month and what he thinks is the fifth time in his career, Johnson knocked the ball off the tee with a practice swing — this during Saturday’s action at TPC Sawgrass. It happened on the 18th hole and nearly struck a fan who was standing off to the side.
It follows a similar faux pas at the WM Phoenix Open in February.
There is no penalty for this mistake. Rule 6.2b 5 states that a player isn’t penalized if he accidentally strikes the ball when making a swing or preparing to make a stroke on the tee box.
Johnson laughed and said he hoped the goof was caught by cameras. It was.
Johnson, who took a double-bogey on the hole and finished the opening round with a 73, did something similar at the Masters back in 2019.
After that incident, the USGA chimed in on Twitter to clarify:
Regarding Zach Johnson hitting the ball on a practice swing at #themasters, since he had no intention of striking the ball, he has not made a stroke. On the teeing area, there is no penalty and the player simply re-tees because the ball is not yet in play.
It’s no different than a player accidentally knocking the ball off the tee with the clubhead before starting the hole.
The rules address this directly, saying a player has not made a stroke if he “accidentally strikes the ball when making a practice swing or while preparing to make a stroke.”