The open 2017: jon rahm gets two-shot penalty withdrawn

Rahm was playing alongside American Patrick Reed and Englishman Lee Westwood and found himself battling the Birkdale undergrowth on the penultimate hole of the day. In an effort to play his

ball, he moved what he thought was a dead thorn branch aside, only for Westwood to notice it was still attached and therefore not a loose impediment. Rahm was handed a two-shot penalty by

the on-course official, turning his par four at the 17th into a double-bogey six. However, after meeting with David Rickman, the Royal & Ancient's chief referee, Rahm was given the

two shots back as it was ruled he had not improved his lie. “I got there and I thought it was a loose impediment because it looked dead, so I just moved it to the side,” Rahm said. “And

that’s when Lee came and he realised it was attached. “It was like a reaction. It was automatic. I thought it was dead, so I just moved it to the side. "It would not have affected my

swing unless I hit a 50-yard slice, which was not the case for any player in the world in that situation.” It is not the first time Rahm has almost fallen foul of the referees this year. Two

weeks ago, the Spaniard was scrutinised by the officials over replacing a ball on the green in the wrong place. TV viewers had called in claiming he had failed to place his ball correctly

after moving his marker out of the way of partner Daniel Im, but Tour referee Andy McFee chose to impose no penalty. “I thought I put it back on the same spot,” Rahm said at the time. THE

OPEN: CHARLEY HOFFMAN SCORES AN EAGLE ON THE FIRST HOLE “I did plan like they were going to give me a penalty. "That's probably why I got a little more intense on the reaction on

14 [when he holed a 25-footer for another eagle]. "I was just trying to prepare for the worst.”  The two shots given back to him at The Open could prove crucial - it improved his round

from 71 to 69 to given him a -1 score just four shots off the lead.