'Only a guy knew this:' The PGA Tour leader is amazingly driving the rules himself

Cameron Young, in the end, did not lose the cause.

He may also pick up a few followers.

What happened before that was theater during the final round of the PGA Tour's Cadillac Championship. On his second shot on the second hole at Trump National Doral, Young put his iron behind his ball, took his iron just off the fairway, paused, and looked at his ball. He said it went a little further.

Young called an officer. The question is what moved the ball. Could it have been Younger? Could it have been something else? Young also led by five. The official arrived, the Golf Channel marks Young and told him that he did not know “for sure” whether he was the one who caused the ball to go, before saying that he touched the grass and the ball rolled. The officer told him that he would be subject to one fine. Young again requested a video review, and the infraction was not changed.

At play in this case was rule 9.2b (2) of the Laws of Golf, which read as follows:

“A player, an opponent or an external influence is considered to have caused the ball to move only if it is known or proven to be the cause. If it is not known or certain that at least one of these was the cause, the ball is considered to have been moved by natural forces. In applying this standard, all reasonably available information must be taken into account, meaning all information the player knows or can obtain with reasonable effort and without reasonable delay.”

And what does it mean to be “known or certain”? The Laws of Golf state: “Known or probable means more than possible or possible. It means that there is overwhelming evidence that the event in question occurred on the player's ball, such as when the player or other witnesses saw it happen; or that even though there is very little doubt, all reasonably available information indicates that it is at least 95 percent likely that the event occurred.”

On the Golf Channel broadcast, announcer Steve Sands and analysts Smylie Kaufman and Curt Byrum said:

Kaufman said: “A lot of players in that situation will protect the field and be able to sleep at night.”

Said Sands: “But he said: 'I wasn't sure.'”

Said Byrum: “By putting the club behind the ball, he wasn't sure if that was what made the ball move or not. But …

Said Kaufman: “I think it should. Anytime you put your club behind the golf ball and the ball moves and you touch down, you have to think that's what it was.”

Of course, Young had nothing to say about ball movement, a thought not lost on on-field analyst Roger Maltbie.

“It makes you proud to be a golfer,” he said on the Golf Channel. “He was the only guy who knew. I think that's very impressive.”

As it followed.

Young hit his third stroke to 13 feet.

Then you make a par putt.

And his lead remained at five.

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