Watching the opening scenes of Quail Hollow, I had to laugh as the network made it seem like the only people playing were Tiger and Z. Johnson. At that point, Johnson was probably out of it and Tiger was at best third.

Next thing I know, they showed a shot of Tiger hitting a chip shot on a par 5. It rolled past the pin and was heading to the left of the red stake (had to be a water hazard) when it appeared to hit a baggie (think Metrodome outfield). The announce said tiger hit a "bumper." When he hit his next shot, the "bumper" seemed to be gone.

Does anyone know what the bumper was or why it was protecting the hazard?

by bumper i believe they were referring to the cut of rough that the ball bumped into. It wasnt gone afterwards as tiger had to hit a bladed wedge, which means more than likely he was right up against it

Thanks. Looking at the original shot, it looked like they have installed some sort of plastic/rubber barrier Running back the DVR, I realized it was the way the shadow/water looked that I mistook for a barrier.