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Provisional ball - When provisional ball becomes abandoned
When your provisional ball has not yet become your ball in play, it must be abandoned in either of these two cases:
- When your original ball is found on the course outside a penalty area before the end of the three minute search time.
- When your original ball is found in a penalty area or is known or virtually certain to be in a penalty area. You must either play your original ball as it lies or take penalty relief under Rule 17.1d.