Freddy Schott pitched to eight feet, and about five seconds later, he extended his hand. Just like that, the DP World Tour’s Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship was over, and Schott was the winner. The moment felt jarring because it defied expectation. This was not match play, where concessions are routine, and a handshake often replaces a tap-in. This was a stroke-play event, played over four demanding days on the 7,347-yard Royal Golf Club in Bahrain. And yet, the tournament ended without the final putt being struck, leaving viewers to ask the same simple question: how? Well, turns out there’s a rarely used rule involved.
A Playoff That Slipped Away
Sunday’s playoff began with three players: Schott, Calum Hill, and Patrick Reed. The opening extra hole quickly reduced the field. Schott and Hill each made par, while Reed bogeyed, eliminating him and setting up a head-to-head duel. What followed on the second playoff hole was a rapid and painful unraveling.
Hill, hitting first, hooked his tee shot left and out of bounds into the driving range. His third shot reached only the first cut of rough on the left side of the hole. Trouble compounded on his fourth swing. In visible frustration, Hill flung his iron into the turf on the follow-through as the ball shot sharply right, striking the video board beyond the green.
“Hosel rocket,” one Golf Channel announcer said. Another followed quickly: “A professional golfer’s nightmare.” After taking a drop, Hill was now playing his sixth shot.
Questions From the Booth
While Hill struggled, Schott stayed composed. His tee shot found the right side of the fairway, and his second shot finished in the rough to the right of the green. As Hill finally reached the putting surface in six, the broadcast team began debating a scenario rarely discussed in stroke play: could Hill concede?
“I don’t think he’s allowed,” one announcer said. Another hesitated, suggesting Hill might have to “take all the misery on board.” The assumption was understandable. Stroke play traditionally requires every stroke to be completed.
The Rule That Ended It All
The Rules of Golf, however, contain a little-known provision. Under Committee Procedures, Rule 7a(1) states that in a stroke-play playoff between two players, if one player concedes defeat, the other does not need to complete the hole to be declared the winner.
After Hill’s sixth shot found the green and Schott pitched safely to eight feet, Hill conceded. Hands were shaken. Hugs followed. The tournament was officially over.
“Looks like it has been conceded,” an announcer said. “Not sure I’ve ever seen that before.”
Rarely has a stroke-play event ended this way, but under the rules, it can, and in Bahrain, it did.
