Sunday was definitely going to be a very exciting day at Whistling Straits with two of the world’s most exciting and consistent young players squaring off in the final group. Add to the mix that one of them was Queensland’s Jason Day and it was going to be hard not to be looking at scoreboards throughout the final round.

I was scheduled to be back on the par 5 fifth hole which did mean that once everyone had gone through I would be able to follow Jason’s progress from the coolness and comfort of the clubhouse.

Even as I headed out to my position at around 8.15am it was already getting hot and the breeze was stronger than previous mornings. If it continued to build then it was going to be a tough day at the office for many of the players.

The wind had moved more to the south than on Friday and this meant that a lot more players were going to be going for the green in two which gave the potential for more rulings given the lateral water hazard defending the left side pin. However, being downwind made it difficult for a player coming in with a long iron, fairway metal or rescue club to hold the green and it is not an easy up and down from the thick rough behind the green.

Pace of play was pretty good with no groups having to be spoken to until well into the field reaching hole 5, even then we are only talking about 2 or 3 minutes over.

The biggest incident of the day for me was a call from the drive landing zone for a ruling for the Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson group. I was stationed down near the green and so I had to jog down the fairway to assist. As I passed Hunter Mahan’s caddie he said that Bubba’s ball was on an ant hill.

There are quite a few of these small ant hills around the course and, just so that you can visualise what we are talking about, these are tiny ants that kind of push the earth up into a small mound or cast and leave a relatively small entry/exit hole in the middle. Unlike some of the nasty fire ants that we come across in Queensland or in other parts of the US, these little rascals are not threatening and certainly not dangerous.

When I arrived Bubba advised that his ball was on an ant hill and that he wanted to know if he was entitled to free relief from the condition. The Rules of Golf are clear on this that an ant, being an insect, is not a burrowing animal and hence this small ant hill was not an abnormal ground condition but the heap is classed as a loose impediment. I advised Bubba of this but he was still keen to debate the point.

I always feel that it is essential to make sure that you have considered every possibility and therefore I called the rover on my section of the course, John Paramor, to seek confirmation that there had been no other instances of relief being granted from this condition during the week in relation to our "local Rules". JP confirmed my initial decision to Bubba and I advised Bubba that, as the ant hill was not created by a burrowing animal he was not entitled to free relief. This accepted, he then changed tack and asked about the "danger factor" of a player being bitten by such an ant. I explained that, although concerned about player safety, as these were not fire ants or the like it was not considered to be a dangerous situation and therefore no free relief was available from the condition.

Bubba then accepted the decision and I removed myself from the immediate area. The discussion was relatively light hearted and I knew that he was just pushing the envelope as far as he could. He went to address the ball then backed off and said "ouch, it bit me!" before addressing the ball and punching it down the fairway. This turned out to be a good play as he then proceeded to stiff his approach shot and knock it in for birdie. As I walked back down the fairway, a CBS TV girl came running after me to ask my name and where I came from. Needless to say it wasn’t because she wanted my phone number but rather that a significant portion of the situation had been filmed and shown as part of the TV coverage.

See more: VIDEO Bubba Watson seeks a relief on the 5th

Anyway, back to the golf. Nobody in the last few groups were making a real charge and so the excitement continued to build when Jason and Jordan reached hole 5. Jason caught one of the bunkers on the right side of the driving zone and played an awesome shot up to pin high right of the green. Jordan was in the rough back right of the green and played first to around 10 feet. Jason knocked it up to around 4 feet and followed Jordan’s birdie putt into the hole.

My day on course was done and now it was time to play the waiting game and see if Jason’s wait for a Major victory was about to end.

Jason Day is highly respected by the American public for both his golfing ability and his pleasant and professional demeanor, but I could sense that they were right behind Jordan for a number of reasons. There were more than a few glances my way as I fist pumped and said "Yes!" with every putt that Jason Day holed on his way to posting the lowest ever Major total of 20 under par.

Our instructions as the Rules Committee were to assemble behind the 18^th green once the final group walked to 17 tee. This was a tough 10 minutes as I had no way of knowing what was happening on 17. That hole has the potential to stop a score in its tracks, as Matt Jones found out in round three, and I was desperate to see the scores go up on the monster board beside the 18^th green. It was a huge relief when it showed that Jas had posted a par and had a few shots up his sleeve coming down the last.

I found myself getting quite emotional about the outcome as I have always found Jason to be extremely friendly to me over the years and I know how hard he has worked to get into this position. His heart must have been pumping but he played 18 with absolute class and very nearly holed out for 3, leaving a short tap in to become the winner of the 97^th PGA Championship.

I was fortunate enough to be on the putting green when Jason was presented with the Wanamaker Trophy and he spoke extremely well during his acceptance speech. He is definitely all class both on and of the golf course.

During the mayhem of photos and interviews I was able to greet Colin Swatton and congratulate him on the achievement and then the big moment – a big man hug for the Champion with a big lump in my throat. Again this was all captured on the TV broadcast and I have been told that it came across as the special moment that it was.

What an awesome couple of weeks these have been at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and the 97^th PGA Championship. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to represent the PGA of Australia and the PGA Tour of Australasia on the Rules Committee at each event and I hope readers have enjoyed a brief insight into what we experience on Tour.

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