Carl Yuan made his PGA Tour debut at the Sony Open this weekend and nearly found his way into the playoff. Yuan finished just one shot outside of extra holes, but it’s highly questionable as to whether he should have been that close.

On the 72nd hole, Yuan hit his approach well out to the right, either hitting or flying over the right greenside grandstand. The ball was never found, yet Yuan was granted relief from a temporary immovable obstruction (i.e grandstand) because PGA Tour Rules Official Ken Tackett said they were “virtually certain” Yuan’s ball was lost in the grandstand somewhere. Tackett also said they talked with people inside the tent and that they believed the ball was somewhere in the suite. Yuan went on to make par on the hole, grabbed the clubhouse lead at the time, and ultimately finished T-4.

There are three huge issues with this ruling:

The first is the ambiguous language used in Model Local Rule F-23 d. of the Rules of Golf, which states that relief is given if “the player’s ball has not been found but is known or virtually certain to have come to rest in a TIO.” This puts the onus entirely on the rules official who will almost always be dealing with incomplete information. Plus, there is a lot of gray area in the term “virtually certain.” The PGA Tour was virtually certain LIV Golf didn’t pose a threat. Fans were virtually certain Jordan Spieth would close out the 2016 Masters as he made the turn. I’m virtually certain Chipotle will sit well in my stomach. Saying something is virtually certain doesn’t make it true.

The second issue is that we have video showing Yuan’s ball as it neared the grandstand and, while it doesn’t definitively show the ball NOT ending up in the suites, it absolutely doesn’t show anything that provides any level of certainty that it ended up where the ruling said it ended up.

Finally, and most importantly, this situation affects more people than just Carl Yuan. Those he tied at T-4 and those close behind lost money and FedEx Cup points as a result of this ruling, points that could ultimately decide whether they get into Signature Events or even the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Plus, imagine if you had a bet placed on a J.T. Poston (sixth) top-5 finish?

Carl Yuan is a talented player and will succeed on the PGA Tour. This situation has nothing to do with him (how could he know where the ball ended up?) and everything to do with the way the rules of golf are implemented at the professional level. If this is an example of an official being virtually certain a ball came to rest in TIO, it’s hard to imagine a situation where a penalty is actually handed down. What happened on Sunday was egregious to the point of making a mockery of the sport. Other players, and the PGA Tour at large, should expect better.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.