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Phil Mickelson incurred a two-shot penalty for opting to hit his ball while it was still moving
Phil Mickelson was handed a two-shot penalty during the third round of the US Open, but should he have been punished further?
Mickelson marked his birthday by equalling his worst round in 27 US Open appearances, firing an 11-over 81 to match the score he shot at Pebble Beach 25 years earlier.
The 48-year-old slipped down the leaderboard with four bogeys around the turn before racking up a sextuple-bogey during a bizarre incident at the par-four 13th.
After seeing a chip run off the edge of the green, Mickelson’s fifth shot was heading off the green again until he jogged to his ball and knocked it back towards the cup while it was still moving.
He breached Rule 14-5 for making a stroke while the ball was moving and was handed a two-stroke penalty, with the American taking two more putts to take his total on the hole to 10 shots.
Mickelson admitted post-round he hit the ball prematurely deliberately to stop the ball going off the green again, although did that put him a better position?
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Rule 1-2 states that a player who breaks Rule 14-5 to give himself a competitive advantage should result in disqualification, although the USGA Rules Committee decided against this situation.
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