Baltusrol has been hit with a deluge of rain this week that knocked out most of the third round on Saturday and threatened to push the entire tournament into Monday. Thankfully, with the help of an extraordinary grounds crew, play looks like it will be completed on Sunday.
There is one caveat, though, as the PGA has ruled that players will be able to play preferred lies or "lift, clean and place" in the final round.
This means they will be able to pick up their ball in a closely mown area and wipe any mud or debris off before placing it back in the closely mown area within a club length of its original position.
This is pretty rare for any tournament, much less a major. It is believed to be the first time this has happened in the 98-year history of the PGA Championship (or potentially any major).
But the players have been almost universally in favor of it.
"I think it's such the right call," said Phil Mickelson after finishing up his final round. "There's [an] element of luck involved in you don't do that because of the amount of mud that will get on the ball as well as the inability to finish the round because of not being able to take full relief from the fairway. There were some spots where the only relief would end up being in the rough. I think it was a great call. I know it's not one that is ideal."
Phil Mickelson a fan of the lift-clean & place on Sunday. #PGAChamppic.twitter.com/wAblcbkbrw
— Alex Miceli (@alexmiceli) July 31, 2016
The PGA of America said on Saturday it did not think preferred lies would have to be played on Sunday, but the situation certainly called for it on Sunday as some players were trying to get 36 holes of golf in.
"We just felt for the fair playing of a major championship we needed to have preferred lies." said PGA of America Chief Championships Officer Kerry Haigh.
This is likely the proper move. It's sort of frowned upon in professional events, but it helps players play more quickly, and it takes the absurd element of luck out of it because players don't have to hit mud balls. The only problem? If somebody shoots 62 on Sunday to win the PGA Championship, it's going to have an asterisk the size of a blimp next to it.
