Rory did exactly the same thing on 18 in the same third round. They showed it right at the start of the 4th round Golf Channel coverage. The only difference seems to be that Rory didn't make much effort to find himself a better lie, while Patrick was very successful in obtaining a better lie.
For mine, this is a problem that will occur many times when you have super-thick rough, a wet, soft course, and a local rule about embedded golf balls. Either remove the embedded ball in the rough rule, or cut the rough back.
As for Patrick, what he clearly should have done is call the cameraman over, so he could get a ruling from the many viewers on TV before proceeding.