Should Rory McIlroy Have Been Penalized for Hitting that Remote-Control Ball?

On the 15th hole today in the third round of the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship, a golf fan came inside the ropes and tossed a remote-control golf ball onto the green. Superstar Rory McIlroy was standing on the green watching the escapade. After the ball stopped near the hole, Rory walked over near the ball. The fan then operated his hand-held remote, causing the ball to begin rolling again, this time near the hole. Rory walked over near the ball, reached at it with his putter, and touched the ball with his putter head, trying to pull the trick ball toward himself.

But at first, remote control won the tug-of-war. The ball began moving again, out of Rory’s control, and it almost rolled into the hole. Just in time, Rory reached out with his putter head again, covering the hole, and pulled the ball away from the hole. He then bent down, grabbed the ball, and threw it into the pond near the green. And in doing so, he wound up and gave it a good heave-ho, with ball splashing in the water. Some tournament security official then grabbed the fan and began escorting him away from the green. The crowd was going crazy with laughter.

The Rules of Golf say that while playing a round of golf, a player cannot strike a golf ball with his club other than his playing ball, as if making a practice stroke. But I don’t think intent merits any consideration in this rule, meaning that Rory did not intend to gain in advantage by striking another ball.

So, is this not a rules infraction, and the penalty for it bing one stroke? I guess nothing was said about it between Rory and his playing partner, and the TV commentators didn’t say anything about it either.

The Rules of Golf often change every few years. So, I may not be up on some rules change here. If not, does anyone reading this post know if Rory broke the rules and therefore should have penalized? If so, I wonder if the Rule of Equity could be applied in this case, which is a little known rule in golf and can only be applied by a rules official. I had this happen to me one time in the Crosby at Monterey. But not for this. That was way before the days of the remote-control golf ball.