PGA Tour Pro Clarifies Position Following Controversial Rules Incident At John Deere Classic

Midway through round three of the 2025 John Deere Classic, PGA Tour pro Kevin Roy found himself in the middle of an interesting Rules scenario.

The American had birdied each of his opening four holes at TPC Deere Run and was firmly in contention for a maiden PGA Tour title when he reached the 414-yard par-4 11th.

After striking his tee shot 253 yards right down Broadway, Roy's second effort was far less accurate and left him in a green-side bunker, short and right of the putting surface.

With 36 feet to the hole, Roy failed to advance his golf ball over the steep face of the bunker and watched it roll back down the slope to just a short distance in front of him.

Then came the possible controversy. According to Fried Egg Golf's Joseph LaMagna, a nearby Rules official at the course gave permission for the tournament leader to rake his footprint (made during shot three) before his next stroke since it "wasn't in his line of play."

Per USGA Rule 12.2b(2), it is permissible for a player to "rake the bunker to care for the course before playing, so long as you aren't testing the bunker or improving the conditions for your next stroke." This relates to improving a player's lie, area of intended stance, area of intended swing or line of play.

In a subsequent X post, LaMagna appeared to indicate the raking of the bunker could not possibly have failed to improve the conditions of his upcoming stroke since there was a small pile of sand which looked quite close to the ball.

However, a later response from Roy himself explained that his golf ball had actually come to rest much further away from the old footprint than the TV camera behind the incident suggested.

Sharing his first-hand experience of what happened, Roy said on X: "First off, I called a Rules official over. TV made the footprint look much closer than it actually was, and since the footprint was not in my way of playing, the next shot we were able to rake it. Now, if the footprint was in the way, therefore [we] would not be able to rake it."

After his caddie had smoothed out the area deemed to be a lawful distance behind the ball, Roy flicked his fourth shot onto the green before sinking his bogey putt.

However, at the following hole, the 35-year-old then made another bogey at the par-3 to fall back into the pack.

While he managed a birdie at the 14th, two further dropped shots at holes 15 and 18 ensured Roy would begin Sunday's final round in a share of 10th and with plenty of work to do if he was to obtain a first PGA Tour title.

Defending champion, Davis Thompson led on 15-under ahead of four players on 14-under - one of whom was the popular figure of Max Homa.