Conditions on the floating 17th green at Amata Spring Country Club were such that a local rule was in place allowing the use of rangefinders on that hole.
Director of Rules Mark Litton has explained the thinking behind the decision, saying: "The referee that does the set-up on the back nine was out there, got to the 17th as he usually does, did the pacing, calculated it on the yardage book, just checks it with the laser and there was a discrepancy in the distance between the two.
"And we felt that it was too much to just let it go. So we thought the best thing and the fairest thing for all the players was to pop a couple of lasers out there on the tee.
"The Tour provided a yardage one and a metres one, and we left them on the tee with a little note. And all the players have subsequently just lasered it when they've come around.
"And that was the fairest thing for the field to do."
