Explaning Phil Mickelson’s wrong ball blunder at the Presidents Cup

A lot of folks were confused when Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson somehow managed to lose the seventh hole twice during their Friday fourballs (best ball) match against Jason Day and Adam Scott at the Presidents Cup. So, let’s put it into perspective.

Phil Mickelson hit his tee shot on the par 5 at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea using a model of golf ball different than what he had used in the prior six holes of the match. Mickelson was looking for extra distance, so he picked a ball that would spin less in the wind.

However, it came to Mickelson’s attention before he hit his approach shot that he had violated what’s called the One Ball Rule. The One Ball Rule requires players to use the same model of ball — though not the original ball they started with — through a round. The One Ball Rule isn’t an official rule in golf’s rulebook, but rather is called a Condition of Competition, an extra stipulation that’s often added to high-level competitions. Since the One Ball Rule isn’t always in play — including not at the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup when played in the U.S. — Mickelson should have thought to ask if it was in play for the Presidents Cup. It is.

It was at that point that a PGA Tour rules official with the group told Mickelson he had been disqualified from playing the seventh hole and should pick up his ball, which Mickelson did. That left Johnson to go it alone against the Internationals, and his par was not good enough to beat Day’s birdie. Losing the hole put the American duo 1 down in the match. Then, on the eighth tee, the rules official had more bad news. Under Rule 33-1 of the Rules of Golf, which identifies and establishes Conditions of Competition, the U.S. team was subject to a “status of match adjustment” for Mickelson’s violation of the One Ball Rule. The punishment? The loss of a hole. That meant the U.S. lost the seventh hole twice.

Later, there was insult added to injury. Mark Russell, PGA Tour head of rules and competitions, informed U.S. captain Jay Haas that the rules official for the match had given Mickelson a bad ruling. He should have been allowed to finish the seventh hole with his illegal ball, then the penalty of the one-hole loss should have been applied, meaning the U.S. should have been given full opportunity to win a hole they’d then automatically lose after the fact because of the violation.

Ultimately, the U.S. halved the match, in part because Mickelson played the next several holes in spectacular fashion, including a bomb of a putt on the 11th hole and holing out his second shot on the 12th for eagle from a fairway bunker.

The rules controversy — combined with the Internationals winning the session 3.5-1.5 — added some intrigue to what, after Thursday, appeared to be another U.S. squash in a bland series. Then Mickelson threw some more fuel on the budding fire after the match.

“I feel like we spotted the Internationals’ best team two holes,” he said, “and they still couldn’t beat us. Just saying.”

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Follow @RyanBallengee

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo Sports