Rare Golf Rule Lets Boutier Place Her Ball at Solheim Cup

By Staff Writer

September 12, 2026

2 min read

Celine Boutier, the LPGA player at the center of the rules incident

Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A rarely used relief procedure let Europe's Celine Boutier place her ball inside a penalty area during Friday's opening session at the 2026 Solheim Cup, after a temporary immovable obstruction and a stubborn downslope complicated her drop.

What happened on the 16th hole?

Nanna Koerstz Madsen's tee shot on the 479-yard, par-5 16th at Bernardus Golf sailed right of the fairway and settled in a penalty area beside a creek, in patchy rough on a sideslope. She and Boutier were playing an alternate-shot match against Americans Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin.

Why was Boutier allowed to place her ball?

Officials first ruled that a fan bridge roughly 25 yards ahead was a temporary immovable obstruction under Rule 16.1, entitling Boutier to relief since it interfered with her line to the hole. Her point of maximum relief turned out to be left of the creek, on a downslope, still inside the penalty area.

It's one of the rules' rarer mechanics — a dropped ball that won't stay put can end up placed instead. Under Rule 14.3c(2), if a dropped ball rolls out of the relief area twice, the player places it where the second drop first touched the ground. That is what happened to Boutier: officials stopped her ball from rolling toward the water on both attempts, and she placed it atop a tuft of grass.

A dropped ball that won't stay put can end up placed instead.

"It's very, very rare," Golf Channel analyst Paige Mackenzie said of the sequence.

How did the match end?

Boutier's approach found the fairway, but the Europeans three-putted the 16th green. The Americans, already 2 up, closed out a 3-and-2 win.

Frequently asked questions

What is a temporary immovable obstruction in golf?

It's a man-made structure, such as a bridge or grandstand, from which a player is entitled to free relief under Rule 16.1 if it interferes with their stance, swing or line of sight to the hole.

Can a golfer place their ball instead of dropping it?

Yes. Under Rule 14.3c(2), if a dropped ball rolls out of its relief area twice, the player places it at the spot where the second drop first hit the ground.