Wyndham Clark insists he was NOT cheating as he is embroiled in rules controversy at the Arnold Palmer Invitational... but analyst Brandel Chamblee claims the US Open champion should have been penalized

Reigning US Open champion Wyndham Clark was caught up in a cheating controversy during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday. 

Clark, who won the US Open last summer at Los Angeles Country Club, trails overnight leaders Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry by a shot heading into the final round but the gap could have been bigger. 

While setting his shot up from the heavy rough on Bay Hill's 18th, Clark was seen pressing his club down forcefully behind the ball, causing it to possibly move, on the broadcast. 

The television replays suggested that the ball may have moved but rules officials reviewed it in the scoring area following the round and determined that Clark shouldn't be penalized. 

Clark maintained his innocence following his round, insisting that he was not intending to cheat. 

Reigning US Open champion Wyndham Clark was caught up in a cheating controversy

Clark was seen pressing his club down forcefully behind the ball in the rough on the 18th 

'I'm not cheating or anything like that or trying to improve my lie,' he said. 'Obviously, they zoom it and it makes it look worse. We all talked about it. Scottie, the rules official don't think it moved. So fortunately [a penalty] didn't happen.' 

Clark said that he had a conversation after the round with API’s chief referee Ken Tackett and  Scottie Scheffler, who had played in the same pairing and signed Clark’s card, according to Golf Channel's Todd Lewis. 

He added that the rules committee voted unanimously that Clark’s actions didn’t deserve to be penalized.

However, Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee felt Clark had gotten away with it, insisting he should have been penalized. 

'I would respectfully disagree with the rules officials,' Chamblee said. 'I would respectfully disagree with Wyndham Clark. The ball clearly moved. He certainly didn't ground the club lightly… I don't need video to see this; I saw it live and I knew the ball moved. I think he should have been penalized.'

Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee claimed the 30-year-old should have been penalized

Rules analyst Mark Dusbabek weighed in, explaining the situation to NBC's Dan Hicks. 

'For a ball to move, based on the definition, it has to go to a different spot,' Dusbabek said. 

'It can move, but as long as it comes back to its original spot, it technically hasn't moved. So, when we watch this tape, it looks like it's come back to its same spot.'

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, serving as an analyst on the broadcast, said: 'He needed to be a little bit more careful with that club. He was laying up anyway so what was the advantage of trying to improve the lie?'