Adam Scott and Justin Thomas engage in lengthy 9-minute debate over controversial 'creek drop' at 2023 Wyndham Championship
Adam Scott and Justin Thomas had a nine-minute-long debate with the PGA Tour Official during the second round of the 2023 Wyndham Championship.
Scott carded a 1-over 71 on the second day at the Sedgefield and slipped to T31 after 36 holes. Thomas had a better day as he shot 5-under 65 and jumped to T21 after two rounds.
During the eighth hole of the second round, both Thomas and Scott landed their tee shots into a stream left of the fairway. Scott wasn't happy from the point of drop, as he felt that the stream was in such a shape that their drop should have been on the fairway near the point of entry and not the point closer to the rough.
Thomas and Scott had a long debate on this with PGA Tour official Ken Tackett. To make their point stronger, both players asked the third player in the group, Shane Lowry, to join the discussion. Lowry also seconded his friends' reasoning, which helped Tackett come to an agreement with the golfers.
Speaking at the post-round interview, Thomas tried to explain what happened on the eighth.
He said:
"Adam and I both hit bad tee shots there. We hooked the crap out of them, so they were moving a lot. It's so hard to figure out exactly where it crossed in a situation like that. They were both very similar shots, they were just different clubs."
"I think we kind of both guessed when we first got there and then after taking the line of sight and going back and realizing it wasn't in the fairway, we felt like we needed to look at it a little bit more, because being able to put it in the fairway and get your hands on the ball was a big deal versus being in the first cut."
Both players ended up missing the par putt on the par-4 8th hole, while Lowry ended up getting a birdie. Lowry shot 1-under 69 to aggregate at 3-under, just two shots better than the cutline.
When will Justin Thomas and Adam Scott resume playing at the Wyndham Championship?
On Friday, the 15-time winner on the PGA Tour fired a 5-under 65 under intense pressure to move up to T-21 after 36 holes at the Wyndham Championship. He needs a solo 18th-place finish or better at Sedgefield to qualify for the playoffs.
Thomas is paired with Matt Wallace for the third round of the Wyndham Championship on Saturday, August 5, and will tee off at 11:35 am EST. Wallace dropped five spots after shooting 2-under 68 in the second round.
Adam Scott shot 1-over 71 on Friday and is currently at T-31 after totaling 4-under through 36 holes. Westmoreland also dropped 24 spots after shooting an even-par 70, bringing his aggregate score to 4-under.
Scott is paired with Kyle Westmoreland for the third round of the Wyndham Championship. Scott and Westmoreland are scheduled to tee off at 10:50 am EST on Saturday.