PGA Tour's Abnormal Course Condition rule explained as J.J. Spaun is accused of 'cheating' drop scandal

J.J. Spaun’s final round at The Players Championship 2025 was dipped in controversy. The 34-year-old golfer had a rough start on Sunday making two bogeys and no birdies through his opening eight holes. Notably, his second shot landed in the rough. However, a controversial rule helped him take the third shot from the fairway at TPC Sawgrass.

Spaun’s second shot on the 9th hole fell short of the greens and ended up in the rough. Interestingly, his ball came to rest with a sprinkler head in his stance. This caused the golfer to refer to Rule 16 of the Rules of Golf, which looks at the “Relief from Abnormal Course Conditions (Including Immovable Obstructions), Dangerous Animal Condition, Embedded Ball.” The section of the rulebook allows players to take free relief as it was a ‘man-made obstruction.’

According to Rule 16.1a, as noted by the R&A, the player can get relief when they face “Interference by Abnormal Course Condition.” The rule classifies ‘interference’ as when “the player’s ball touches or is in or on an abnormal course condition, an abnormal course condition physically interferes with the player’s area of intended stance or area of intended swing, or when the ball is on the putting green, an abnormal course condition on or off the putting green intervenes on the line of play.”

As per the rule, there is “no interference” if the “abnormal course condition is close enough to distract the player but does not meet any of these requirements.” Notably, NBC Sports’ on-course reporter and legendary golfer Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay explained it best by dubbing J.J. Spaun’s incident a ‘fortunate drop.’ The first drop being interfered by the sprinkler head meant the 2022 Valero Texas Open winner could take another drop, also within a club-length and no nearer to the hole.

He used this to his advantage and dropped it again on a sprinkler head to take a free drop. Following the twisting of the rule, Spaun found himself free on the fairway and took his third stroke to roll in a controversial birdie putt. He tied with Rory McIlroy for the lead with the shot.

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J.J. Spaun will face off Rory McIlroy in The Players playoff on Monday

J.J. Spaun finished 12-under par at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday to share The Players Championship 2025 lead with Rory McIlroy. The two golfers will contest in a fiery three-hole playoff on Monday at 9 am ET to decide the winner. While Spaun comes in as an equal favorite, he admits that his rival has the upper-hand. It is pertinent note that Spaun birdied two of his final five holes to force the second-ever three-hole playoff in The Players’ history.

Speaking about 27x PGA Tour winner McIlroy, Spaun noted that “everyone expects” the World No.2 star to beat him on Monday. Notably, he dubbed himself the underdog in the contest and instilled confidence over the same.

J.J. Spaun said after The Players’ final round on Sunday:

“Everyone expects him to win. I don't think a lot of people expect me to win. I expect myself to win. That's all I care about.”

It is pertinent to note that The Players’ final round on Sunday was hit by a four-hour rain delay. During his post-round press conference, J.J. Spaun even joked about spending Sunday afternoon’s delay by sitting in a chair called the Shiftwave, which calls itself the “world’s most advanced nervous system regulation device.” He revealed using the chair with an eye mask on for over 10 minutes alongside Charley Hoffman in the players-only gym.