PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed Followed Rules at Farmers Insurance Open

The PGA Tour confirmed neither Patrick Reed nor Rory McIlroy broke any rule during the Farmers Insurance Open.

Both players received a drop after arguing they were unable to properly hit their balls as they originally sat. In Reed's case, he picked up the ball before calling for a rules official.

"John Mutch, Ken Tackett and Gary Young have reviewed the Rory McIlroy videos from No. 18 yesterday and determined that it was virtually the same situation that Patrick Reed faced on No. 10 during the third round," the PGA Tour said. 

"It was reasonable for both players to conclude—based on the fact that they did not see the ball land, but given the lie of the ball in soft course conditions—that they proceed as the Rule allows for a potential embedded ball."

Mutch explained the decision:

Reed generated far more controversy than McIlroy, something he drew attention to on social media:

The 30-year-old's reputation preceded him in this case. During the 2019 Hero World Challenge, he was assessed a two-stroke penalty after he was shown to have improved his lie with his club head.

Many questioned whether Reed's ball was actually embedded since it bounced in the left rough before coming to a stop. He said after the round nobody in his group saw the ball bounce, and a tournament volunteer responded the same way when asked by Reed about the shot.

In McIlroy's case Saturday, his second shot on No. 18 landed in the rough to the right of the fairway. He informed his group he was planning to take a drop because of an embedded lie.

The PGA Tour said Reed and McIlroy correctly followed Rule 16/3 and didn't gain an illegal advantage.

The ruling could have big implications considering Reed leads Viktor Hovland by one shot through 12 holes in Sunday's final round.