A ball against another ball

[False hopes]

So I'm up late watching the Open, can't remember which players this happened to but their balls were very close to each other in the rough.  From the TV view it didn't look like either could've made a shot without contacting the other players ball.  I had to go to the little boys room while this played out and don't have a DVR, what is the ruling on a situation like this?  Does one of the players need to mark his ball and hit after?  Just curious, haven't seen this before.

[billchao]

34 minutes ago, False hopes said:

So I'm up late watching the Open, can't remember which players this happened to but their balls were very close to each other in the rough.  From the TV view it didn't look like either could've made a shot without contacting the other players ball.  I had to go to the little boys room while this played out and don't have a DVR, what is the ruling on a situation like this?  Does one of the players need to mark his ball and hit after?  Just curious, haven't seen this before.

One of the players would mark his ball and lift it, then he would replace it as close as possible to the original lie conditions. If the ball can't be replaced in the original spot (if it turned into a divot hole for example), it must be placed in a spot within one club length no closer to the hole as close to the conditions of the original spot as possible. He is not allowed to clean the ball lifted from off the green.

Quote

22-2. Ball Interfering with Play

Except when a ball is in motion, if a player considers that another ball might interfere with his play, he may have it lifted.

A ball lifted under this Rule must be replaced (see Rule 20-3). The ball must not be cleaned, unless it lies on the putting green (see Rule 21).

In stroke play, a player required to lift his ball may play first rather than lift the ball.

Note 1: Except on the putting green, a player may not lift his ball solely because he considers that it might interfere with the play of another player. If a player lifts his ball without being asked to do so, he incurs a penalty of one stroke for a breach of Rule 18-2, but there is no additional penalty under Rule 22.

Note 2: When another ball is in motion, a ball that might influence the movement of the ball in motion must not be lifted.

 

[False hopes]

Thank you for the information, I doubt it'll ever happen to me but at least I'll know how to handle it if it does.