When Justin Thomas hit his approach shot at the 11th hole some three feet past the hole on Friday at the Presidents Cup, he waved to the crowd and smiled to partner Rickie Fowler, assuming it was a kick-in for birdie. Instead, opponent Marc Leishman waved him up, requesting that he mark the ball.
It was an interesting exchange; Golf Channel’s announcers were curious whether or not Thomas was obligated to go mark his ball, which was in place as a potential backstop as Fowler prepared to hit a pitch shot from 50 yards. After a short back-and-forth Thomas, who didn’t want to interrupt his partner’s rhythm, begrudgingly walked up and marked his Titleist.
Fowler followed with a middling pitch that settled 20 feet from the hole and went on to make par. Leishman made par, too. Then Thomas finished off his three-footer for birdie to send the match 3-up in favor of the Americans. That’s when things got interesting.
