Ninth Hole Putting Green at Oakmont!!

[sbell0524]

I was watching US Open and it looks like the ninth green is also the practice putting green!! That is something you don't see very often...

I believe someone actually hit the green and it rolled into one of the practice holes... How do you rule that?

[bundy316]

They were talking about it last night on the Golf Channel, there is a blue stake and a drawn dotted line...

Players are not allow to go over the line to hit putts or they will be disqualified...

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.aspx?page=19342&dv=3164219&select=22848

As for the ball in cup...

"Players on the ninth hole can play their shot from wherever it lands, even if it runs past the blue line. If the ball happens to go into one of the practice holes -- don't laugh, it happened at the 2003 U.S. Amateur -- it's considered ground under repair, and the player can take the ball out, place it and play without penalty."

[duffer den]

Found this on the Rulings section of the US Open site, Rulings of the Day for Thursday:

Byrum Ruling

It seems likely that any player in the field this week would happily accept a score of 2 for the 477-yard ninth hole.

With his second stroke this morning, Tom Byrum successfully found a hole in the putting green. Unfortunately for Byrum, his ball did not find the hole after that stroke; rather, Byrum's ball came to rest in one of the holes cut in the 'practice portion' of the ninth green.

Such a hole is a 'hole made by a greenkeeper' which is, by definition, ground under repair (see Definition of "Ground Under Repair" and analogous Decision 16/7). The walking official with the group, Dosek, assisted Byrum with his relief, without penalty, in accordance with Rule 25-1b(iii). Byrum was permitted to place his ball at the nearest point of relief (i.e. the nearest spot such that the ball was not in the practice hole and such that the practice hole did not interfere with his stance or his area of intended swing and did not intervene on his line of play).

Two putts later Tom Byrum had a four, which is still a good score at this difficult hole.