Judging by these incidents in 2013 involving everyone from the game’s No. 1 player to a guy nobody has ever heard of, knowledge of the rules is fading fast.
Judging by these incidents in 2013 involving everyone from the game’s No. 1 player to a guy nobody has ever heard of, knowledge of the rules is fading fast.
At the BMW Championship, Justin Rose violated a rule by ignoring a principle of common sense: Take your practice swings far enough away from your ball that there is no chance of it being struck by your divot. Rose was left with a one-stroke penalty and we were left with a rare headline opportunity to parody our favorite bit of dialogue from a Superman movie.
Incredible as it seems, tournament pros sometimes forget to sign their scorecards. New Zealand pro Nick Gillespie wasted a 7-under 65 in the first round of the Victorian Open Championship in Australia and an apparent two-shot lead by neglecting to sign his card. “I have been practicing my signature this afternoon in preparation for next week,” he said after his DQ.
During a backup in the Crowne Plaza Colonial Invitational, Jeff Overton decided to take some practice putts, which is OK, but he used an alignment aid, which isn’t. After being DQ’d he tweeted “If ur gonna inform someone on a rule of something a person can do, make sure u remind them of the small things they can’t do.” Said PGA TourVP of rules and competition Mark Russell, “It’s a shame, but that’s the rule.”
During the second round at the BMW Masters in Shanghai, Simon Dyson marked his ball on the green, then used the ball to tap down a spike mark. Dyson, apparently tied for second through 36 holes, was nabbed by a TV viewer. On Dec. 5 a three-man European Tour disciplinary panel announced that Dyson would be fined more than $45,000 and be placed on probation for 18 months.
Tiger Woods sailed his tee shot into vegetation to the right of the fifth fairway in the second round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Getting confirmation from playing partner Martin Kaymer that it was embedded, Woods took relief without penalty. But because the vegetation was growing in sand, no free relief was available. Two strokes were added to Woods’ score.
Solheim Cup officials botched a ruling on a drop by European team member Carlota Ciganda on the first day, improperly allowing her to drop 40 yards behind where the ball crossed the hazard line. That Ciganda saved par and the Europeans halved the hole and went on to win the match infuriated the Americans, and a subsequent LPGA apology offered no solace.
On Sunday at The Players Championship, leader Tiger Woods hooked his tee shot into a hazard. Some felt he dropped too close to the hole. Woods and playing partner Casey Wittenberg disagreed. “I talked to Casey and the caddie, and we agreed that’s where it crossed,” Woods said. “I saw it perfectly off the tee,” Wittenberg concurred. “I told him exactly where I thought it crossed, and we all agreed.”
No competitor was known to have been assessed a stroke for slow play in the history of the Masters ... until this year. Fourteen-year-old Chinese amateur Guan Tianlang earned that dubious distinction in the second round. “I respect the decision,” Guan said after signing for a 75 and becoming the youngest player to make the cut in a major.
During the second round of the BMW Championship, Tiger Woods moved some loose impediments before hitting a shot. Officials were shown an HD video which appeared to show that the ball moved. Woods maintained it only oscillated, but was docked two strokes. In November, the USGA and R&A announced that players will no longer be penalized when a ball’s movement could be detected only through the use of enhanced technology.
The loudest sounds in golf in 2013 were the clank of Tiger Woods’ third shot to the 15th hole in the second round of the Masters hitting the flagstick and rebounding into the water, and the subsequent hue and cry over his drop. Woods improperly dropped 2 yards farther away from the hole than his original shot, but officials, who originally said the drop was OK, didn’t learn that until after he had signed his card. Thus they penalized but didn’t DQ him.