The Truist Championship will crown a champion on Sunday as a host of PGA Tour stars chase victory at Quail Hollow. It will also provide them with a final opportunity to fine-tune their game ahead of the upcoming PGA Championship.
Since 2019, the event has acted as the Tour’s final stop before the season’s second major. Typically staged at Quail Hollow, last year’s edition took place at Philadelphia Cricket Club after the US PGA was held on the renowned greens and fairways of the well-known North Carolina venue.
Sepp Straka emerged victorious in that edition at 16 under par. Yet not every Truist Championship has gone smoothly, as Mirror Sport examines some of the tournament’s most contentious incidents.
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In 2016, Zac Blair entered his second round in danger of missing the 36-hole cut, standing four over par as he reached the fourth. Following a missed birdie opportunity on the fifth green, he displayed his frustration by striking himself on the head with his putter.
Despite completing his par with the same club, it emerged afterwards that he had done so with a damaged club after letting his emotions take control. He promptly consulted an official on the sixth tee, but was disqualified under Rule 4-3b, which addresses non-conforming equipment.
View 4 ImagesZac Blair displayed his anger(Image: Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
It states that players are prohibited from replacing damaged equipment if the damage is deliberately caused by frustration. Discussing the unusual incident, Blair said on social media: “I let my emotions get the best of me today. Missed a putt on hole five, and I hit my putter against my head and proceeded to tap in for par.
“I noticed the putter on the next hole and went over to the official to let him know about the situation. I informed him I’d proceeded to finish out for par on hole five with my putter. Going forward, I’m going to do my best not to let my emotions get in the way out on the golf course, and I’m going to learn from this mishap and move on.”
Xander Schauffele stormed into 2024’s edition with a stunning opening round of 64, notching six birdies and an eagle alongside just one bogey. That gave him a commanding three-shot advantage after day one, though he wasn’t immune from controversy.
On the par-four eighth, Schauffele’s approach shot strayed into bushes and trees close to a penalty zone. He desperately hunted for his wayward ball in a tense moment before Wyndham Clark discovered it lying near a ShotLink tower beyond the penalty area.
View 4 ImagesXander Schauffele caused uproar with his drop ball(Image: Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Due to its position being close to a ‘temporary immovable object,’ the 32-year-old was granted a free drop – making the most of it by placing his ball into pine straw just beside the fairway rather than having to navigate his shot through a narrow one-foot gap beneath foliage.
From that spot, he managed to salvage an unlikely par, saying afterwards: “Got really lucky multiple times. What was a very stressful moment turned into a pretty stressless par.”
When a journalist enquired whether he was in the penalty area, he replied: “No, I was beyond it, actually,” clarifying any questions about why he had initially received the free drop.
View 4 ImagesSergio Garcia was right in the news for his outburst(Image: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
During the 2022 tournament at TPC Potomac, Sergio Garcia grabbed headlines for the wrong reasons when he unleashed a furious response to a wayward tee shot on the 10th. The Spaniard was then forced to search for his ball within a hazard.
Though he eventually found his ball, a tournament official informed him that he had exceeded the permitted three-minute search time, so it had to be declared lost. Fuming at the decision, Garcia acknowledged that his days with the PGA Tour were coming to an end and that he was preparing to make the contentious switch to LIV Golf.
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He said: “I can’t wait to leave this tour. I can’t wait to get out of here, my friend. A couple of more weeks and I won’t have to deal with you anymore.”
Following the penalty drop, which resulted in a par, the PGA Tour subsequently confirmed that the official had failed to account for the time Garcia had spent crossing a creek to reach his ball’s resting position.
To make matters worse, a signed scorecard meant there was no possibility of amending his final tally. Garcia ultimately made the switch to LIV during its inaugural season in June 2022, where he continues to compete to this day.