Golf Rules: Playing a Recovered Ball After a Lost Tee Shot

Question
ball driven off the tee is searched for & declared lost returning to tee to play 3rd, subsequently the original ball is found can the original ball be played as 2nd shot i.e. without penalty

Answer
David,

If you have hit the second ball (third shot) that then becomes the ball in play. If the ball is found before you hit the second ball and before 5 minutes has lapsed since searching for the lost ball, then you can hit the first ball for your second shot.

Sorry for the delay and thanks for the question.

Michael