OK, I guess I'll add the answer then?
27/11 Provisional Ball Not Distinguishable from Original Ball
A player entitled to play a provisional ball from the tee plays it into the same area as his original ball.
The balls have identical markings and the player cannot distinguish between them. Following are various situations and the solutions, which are based on equity (Rule
1-4), when the above circumstances exist and one or both of the balls are found within a search of five minutes:
Situation 1: One ball is found in a water hazard and the other ball is not found.
Solution 1: The ball that was found must be presumed to be the provisional ball.
Situation 2:Both balls are found in a water hazard.
Solution 2: As the player's original ball is lost in the water hazard due to his inability to identify it (see analogous Decision
27/10), the player must proceed under Rule
26-1 with respect to the original ball (estimating the spot where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard, if necessary — see Decision
26-1/17); his next stroke would be his third.
Situation 3: One ball is found in bounds and the other ball is lost or is found out of bounds.
Solution 3: The ball in bounds must be presumed to be the provisional ball.
<< Why is the 'assumption, or guess' for the worst case scenario? Since it is not factual, it is a guess'.>> Same dilemma for Situation #1??
==> IF both balls were side-by-side inbounds, there would be no 'guessing or assumption' of which is which, you would not be able to identify which is which and you would therefore fall under the "can not find ball within 5 min" category (according to my reading of the rules)....stroke and distance penalty (according to 27-1), so why wouldn't this same result apply regardless if one ball was in bounds or out or in a hazard?....if you can't identify which is which when they are side by side, you can't do it when they are not...same dilemma regardless of ball position?
Situation 4: Both balls are found in bounds, whether in a playable or an unplayable lie, and (1) one ball is in a water hazard and the other is not or (2) both balls lie through the green or in a bunker.
Solution 4: One could argue that both balls are lost. However, it would be inequitable to require the player to return to the tee, playing 5, when the player has found both balls but does not know which is the original and which the provisional. Accordingly, the player must select one of the balls, treat it as his provisional ball and abandon the other.
(Revised)