Things got intense in the third round of the 2026 Cognizant Classic after Shane Lowry made an incredible comeback. He shot a flawless 8-under 63 to jump to the top of the leaderboard. However, the Irishman might not be able to maintain his amazing run on Championship Sunday. That’s because things are about to get a bit more difficult at the PGA National Champion Course.

The PGA Tour enforces a controversial rule for the final round of the Cognizant Classic 2026

With the weather conditions expected to get worse, the PGA Tour Communications confirmed, “Preferred lies are in effect for the final round of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.”

As per the weather report, there is a 35% chance of precipitation between 8 A.M. and 4 P.M. (local time) today. There is also a 30% possibilty of lighting from 2 P.M. onwards. It’s also expected to be quite windy with gusts going up to 20 mph.

Speaking of the preferred lies rule, it will allow the pros to move the ball if it’s dug in a puddle and unplayable. The rule was implemented during the final round of the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as well. Even then, the volatile weather had played a spoilsport in changing the dynamic of the challenges on the fairway. That may have cost Akshay Bhatia a possible third PGA Tour title win.

As far as the 2026 Cognizant Classic goes, it’s Lowry and Austin Smotherman who are leading the table at the start of the final round. The Irishman has experience playing in windy conditions, having spent most of his life competing on links courses. However, the 31-year-old Smotherman may find it difficult to adapt to the final 18-holes and secure his first PGA Tour win. Even if the preferred lies actually play to his advantage.

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That said, the controversial rule has already received a lot of criticism in the past for being unfair.

Netizens’ dislike of the preferred lies rule

Bringing the preferred lies rule into play once in a while is understandable. Especially when the conditions on the fairway are quite drastic. However, the fans have seen it being used quite often recently, which has made them hate it.

They saw the worst of it during the TOUR Championship, which was riddled with weather issues. Three rounds of the FedEx Cup playoff event were ruined by heavy precipitation. That had forced the PGA Tour to take some shocking decisions.

The Tour had enforced the preferred lies rule for three straight rounds of the event. That raised a lot of concerns among the fans as they complained about the unfair usage of the rule. Many criticized the ruling committee for altering the rules to suit the top players like Scottie Scheffler & Co. While that may not have been the case, the general dislike for the rule is still consistent.