Disputed Drop Puts Daniel Berger at Odds with Joel Dahmen, Viktor Hovland

'I've never taken a bad drop in my life,' said Berger, but his playing partners disagreed with the situation at the 16th hole in the final round at The Players.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Things got a bit tense on the 16th hole Monday during the final round of The Players Championship, and in this instance it was not about the $20 million purse and the pressure that comes with winning a big tournament.

Daniel Berger hit his second shot on the par-5 hole at the TPC Sawgrass into the water.

Where he got to drop it became a point of contention for him and the other players in his group, Joel Dahmen and Viktor Hovland.

Berger clearly felt the ball crossed the penalty area line closer to the green than Dahmen and Hovland. There was a lengthy discussion about it. Rules official Gary Young came in.

Ultimately, they picked a spot farther back than Berger wanted, but closer than Dahmen and Hovland felt was appropriate – which means nobody really got it right.

Berger made it clear in audio picked up from the broadcast that he believed where the ball crossed was where he wanted to drop it.

“I’ve never taken a bad drop in my life and I’m not about to here,’’ he said to Hovland.

Although he did not speak to reporters afterward, Berger appeared to take the ruling in stride. Dahmen declined to speak to reporters but Hovland did.

“I was kind of more on the left side of the fairway, Berger hitting from the right side, and Joel was kind of in the middle,’’ Hovland said. “But as soon as Daniel hit it in the air, he said, 'Oh, water ball,’ and then I was watching the whole flight, and it was just short right of the green in the water on 16.

“From my perspective, obviously I was a little further left than Daniel, in my opinion I did not think the ball started very far left of the pin. It looked like it kind of started at the pin and then cut towards the end because the wind was also a little bit off the left.

“He obviously thought that he started it way left of the pin and then he kind of cut hard at the end, but that's not what Joel and I saw. I'm not going to put words in Joel's mouth, but he was closer to Daniel's line, and we both saw the same thing, that it kind of started pretty close to the pin and then cut to the right at the end, therefore not really crossing all the way up there close to the green. We thought it was closer to the grass bunker there, just past it, and we had a little discussion about it.’’

Berger’s shot from 215 found the water, about 60 feet from the hole. He ended up dropping from 97 yards, hitting his fourth to 12 feet and two-putting for a bogey. He finished with a score of 70 to tie for 13th.

Hovland said he felt he was simply doing what is required in that situation.

“Yeah, it’s not a fun conversation,’’ he said. “Daniel's game is great, and I have massive respect for him as a player. But at the end of the day, we've got to protect the field and protect all the other guys. It's not a fun conversation, but when you strongly believe in something, you kind of have to stand your ground.’’

Hovland said there was no discussion about the situation afterwards.

“We try to keep it professional,’’ he said. “It’s not like we’re trying to dog Daniel and trying to screw him over. It’s just what we believe, and obviously he felt strongly the other way. It’s just what it is, I’m not accusing him of anything. The golf ball is in the air for a couple of seconds, so it’s tough to exactly pinpoint where it crossed and not. But Joel and I saw it one way and he saw it differently.’’