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Bubba Watson lamented the officials’ decision to warn him for slow play, after he took a one-shot lead at The Barclays.
Watson - at seven-under overall - said while he felt it was the right call for him to be warned at Plainfield Country Club in New Jersey after his group was put on the clock, the two-time Masters winner also felt it was a bit over the top in the conditions.
The time pressures forced Watson to bogey the 17th, before he got that shot back on 18 to have the 36-hole lead.
“I’m saying that that is hilarious that I got a bad time,” Watson said, after being cautioned on the 16th - which he said “caused me to miss my yardage by 21 yards on 17″.
“And that’s why I talked to the rules officials. I told them, I said, ‘I’m not mad at anybody about the bad timing’. I went over the time, which is the right ruling.
“It’s just on a hole like that, on one of the toughest holes we’ve ever played besides 2011 when we played the same pin placement - it’s very difficult. So I don’t see that [I needed to be warned].
“I mean, we had to wait a couple holes later on the group on 18.”
US PGA Championship winner Jason Day is tied for eighth after consecutive 68s, all the more meritorious of an effort as he endures back issues.
Despite being just three shots off the lead, and with the likes of Henrik Stenson and Zach Johnson one back from Watson, Day said the leader will be hard to reel in.
“Bubba, he’s got some good control with his ball, and he’s going to be tough to catch but I think the weekend is going to be a challenge out there with how the weather is going to be,” Day said after claiming he was hurting during his swing.
“It’s going to make the fairways bounce and roll a little bit more and it’s going to make the greens a little harder to hit if you miss the fairway.
“Overall I think it’s a good position.”
