LIV Golf opened its season this week in Saudi Arabia following a busy offseason of changes. Gone is the 54-hole format; now they play 72 holes. Gone are stars Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed. Phil Mickelson’s still in the league but missing the first two events. Another one: LIV is actually playing for World Ranking points now, although some still aren’t thrilled.
The season-opener also has an interesting winkle, as this week’s tournament at Riyadh Golf Club is being played under the lights. That’s right — night golf.
A cool feature? Sure! But that doesn’t make it any easier.
“It’s tough under the lights,” Peter Uihlein said Thursday, after his second round. “If you hit it in certain spots and the light is shining kind of right on top of you, the ball is just basically pitch black. You really can’t even see it. That’s happened to me twice out of the bunker, and I’ve chunked it both times. It’s very difficult.
“But for the most part, reality is everyone has got to do it. You just kind of embrace it. I feel like I’ve embraced it well. I enjoy this. I think it’s fun, it’s entertaining, and it’s unique.”
You also need to come prepared for night golf. Forget the typical golf essentials like extra socks and Band-Aids; you need a flashlight.
Uihlein had to use one on the par-4 9th hole during the second round. His drive went into scrub grass and he carefully walked into the trouble — toting a flashlight — to assess the damage. But, despite trying to stay away from the ball, his movements were deemed to have made it move. Penalty.
“So what you are saying is if I move from this spot standing right here and the ball moves, I’ve caused it to move?” he asks a rules official in an Instagram video.
The official nodded.
A frustrated Uihlein — making sure to not move his feet and disturb the ball more — snagged a club from his caddie, skipped a practice swing and blasted onto the green. He two-putted for bogey and shot 69 to take the 36-hole co-lead.
“My ball moved, I guess, on 9,” he said afterward. “Never had that happen before. So that was a penalty, so that was sweet.”
The good news? The third round is finishing up and Uihlein is still near the top of the leaderboard. You can check out the current scores here.
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