At last month’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, we got to see the world’s No.1 player, Scottie Scheffler, spend some time on the rocks at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Scheffler is hardly the only one to face such a predicament. The rocks didn’t just derail legend Arnold Palmer once, but twice.
At the 1963 Crosby Clambake, any kind of charge from ‘The King’ would end in the third round when—still in the mix to win—Palmer on the 17thhole hit his 2-iron tee shot over the green.
Thinking his ball had landed in the ocean, the NCGA Hall of Famer re-teed and hit another ball. As he approached the green, Rules officials told Palmer his first ball was still in play, lying amid the rocks on the beach area below. Looking to save strokes, Palmer opted to play the ball on the rocks.
Later, Rules officials stated that Palmer had hit an unauthorized provisional ball (his second tee shot). ‘The King’ was disqualified, marking the first time in 47 straight events that Palmer would finish out of the money.
A year later, Palmer again saw his chances end on the rocks at Pebble Beach. Again, Palmer flew his tee shot over the green.
His ball again would end up in play, and once again Palmer took a swing. Then another. Then another and yet another. After four attempts, he was still on the rocks.
‘The King’ still didn’t give up, eventually carding a nine on the hole. He’d end up missing the cut by a stroke.
“Looking back, it was really kind of amusing,” Palmer said. “I hit the tee shot rather poorly and it took off for the ocean. When I found it I elected to play it, but it ended up being somewhat of a fiasco because the ball would wash up and then go back into the water. As it turned out, when I finished my round I headed over to The Tap Room. By the time I got there, the bartender had already invented a new drink, ‘Palmer on the Rocks.’
