Friday 9 October 2015 09:40, UK
Phil Mickelson was in the thick of the action for a variety of reasons on the second day of the Presidents Cup in South Korea.
Playing alongside Zach Johnson against the Australian pairing of Adam Scott and Jason Day, Mickelson was involved in a bizarre rules controversy on the seventh hole, but he thrilled the vast galleries when he holed his second shot to the 12th from a fairway bunker for an unlikely eagle.
The match was all-square after six when Mickelson inadvertently used a different specification of ball on the next tee, and when the mistake was confirmed, the rules committee disqualified him from the hole.
However, the rules officials soon realised their ruling was incorrect, and Mickelson should have been allowed to complete the hole where, bizarrely, the Internationals pair went from all-square to two up.
"It's a strange situation," said Mark Russell, the vice president of rules and competition for the PGA Tour.
The penalty should have been a "one-hole adjustment", meaning Day and Scott would have been awarded a hole, but Mickelson and Johnson could have balanced the books by winning the seventh. Mickelson was in the middle of the fairway at the par-five, with 292 yards to the hole.
"It's just unfortunate that he was told he had to pick up the ball," Team USA captain Jay Haas said. "Had he been able to play out and make a four and tie the hole, then it would only have been 1 down instead of 2 down. But that didn't happen, so nothing you can do about it."
But Mickelson, who admitted to a "rookie mistake" by having two different types of ball in his bag, atoned for the error with a spectacular shot at the par-four 12th, where he blasted out of a fairway bunker from 138 yards and found the cup for eagle.
The match ended, perhaps fittingly, all-square as the Internationals staged a superb fightback to finish the day just a point behind overall.
