Si Woo Kim Addressed Penalty After Ball Takes Over A Minute To Fall

Si Woo Kim Addressed Penalty After Ball Takes Over A Minute To Fall

Si Woo Kim Putt
Twitter: @PGATOUR
(Image credit: Twitter: @PGATOUR)

Si Woo Kim was addressed a one-shot penalty during his third of the RBC Heritage after his golf ball dangled on the edge of the hole for over a minute before falling.

Si Woo Kim Addressed Penalty After Ball Takes Over A Minute To Fall

Si Woo Kim has had an interesting couple of weeks on the greens. Last week the South Korean broke his putter at the Masters after slamming it into the ground.

As a result of Kim's outburst, the 25-year-old had to putt with his 3-wood for the remainder of his second round at Augusta National.

This week, however, it wasn't the putter that got him into trouble, but rather the golf ball.

Watch the incident below:

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Hitting his putt from off the green at the par-4 third hole, Kim's birdie putt finished on the lip of the hole, remaining there for over a minute before dropping in.

Although it fell into the hole for a birdie, a rules official would penalise Kim one stroke after his ball dangled on the edge of the hole for over the allotted time.

Related: What's The Ruling When Your Ball Is Overhanging The Hole?

Per Rule 13.3a of the Rules of Golf, "The player is allowed a reasonable time to reach the hole and ten more seconds to wait to see whether the ball will fall into the hole. If the ball falls into the hole in this waiting time, the player has holed out with the previous stroke. If the ball does not fall into the hole in this waiting time: The ball is treated as being at rest. If the ball then falls into the hole before it is played, the player has holed out with the previous stroke, but gets one penalty stroke added to the score for the hole."

The incident provided a big talking point in the group, with Kim’s playing partner, Matt Kuchar, arguing on Kim’s behalf that the ball was still moving up until the point it dropped in the cup.

“It definitely exceeded time,” Kuchar told the official, “but as I go up there, I go, “This ball is moving.” You could tell it was moving. It took a long time … and it did fall in.”

The official responded to the claims, saying: “But in this situation the rules are modified because you could argue that there comes a point in time where we’ve got to play that golf ball, and that’s why we put that time limit on it.”

“Wow,” Kuchar responded again. “I was certain it was – certainly I’m wrong.”

Kim would end up shooting a level-par round of 71 to sit in T42nd, fourteen shots behind the leader, Stewart Cink.

Matt Cradock
Staff Writer

Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover weekend news and social media, as well as help look after Golf Monthly’s many buyers’ guides and equipment reviews.


Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. He currently plays at Witney Lakes in Oxfordshire and his favourite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.


Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?

Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2, 15°, 19°

Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid, 22°

Irons: Mizuno MP54, 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°

Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x