22 replies to this topic

[Tigers Agent]

http://www.espn.com/...late-major-lead

[Buck]

Another example of why golf is dying.

Obtuse nonsense rules that belong in the past.

[M Rose]

Between this and the US Open last year, these tournament organizers are going to have to figure out a better protocol for this sort of thing. History is littered with results unchanged despite horrendous officiating yet we will let some schmuck at home decide a golf tournament.

 

It is the nature of sports or anything officiated by humans that things go missed. You don't get to call into Wimbledon and say the serve was out, and you won't be able to call Phoenix tomorrow night and call a foul on Gonzaga, so why should golf be different?

[✠ davef ✠]

bottom line is officials need to catch these infractions when 

they occur, and not after the fact .

this should have been blamed on the officials and let go.

[Dazmaniac]

By the letter of the law and the rules of golf (as picky as some of them are) she did wrong and didn't replace the ball in the same spot.

But it was hardly placing the ball a foot from its original spot, if was maybe an inch or less and in the grand scheme of things not really gaining an advantage. Why she did it is another question all together.

That said, she obviously didn't think she had done wrong, as I'm sure Lexi would call a foul on herself, her playing partners didn't call it and the match referee (I presume there was one walking with the 3 players) didn't call it. End of.

The person who spotted the infringement must have poured over TV footage as it is barely noticeable when viewed at real time and you only see there may be an issue once you know what you're looking for.

This trial by TV replay needs removing from the game with immediate effect. It's not consistent as many players actually play holes even before TV has gone on air so there will be no video footage to look at. Only the prime time players will be the ones under scrutiny.

Was happy for So Yeon Ryu, as she's a player I like watching, but the unfortunate Lexi ruling tarnished the win and made all the wrong headlines.

[mebby]

Saw that last night. Total nonsense!

[NateDogg]

This is absurd. No other sport allows a random couch potato to alter the outcome of an event, much less a full day after the infraction occurred. Makes the entire officiating crew look foolish and inept.

[Sinewiz]

Agree completely. Absolutely ridiculous. Putting that type of power in the hands of someone watching on TV is mind boggling. All that said., why in the world would you mark your ball and then place it an inch away from where it was at? Was  there a small break there she was trying to avoid?

[Dazmaniac]

Watching the clip again, she marks and replaces the ball from side on and not behind the ball.

When replaced she puts the ball smack in front of the marker in line with the hole but unfortunately that wasn't where the marker was placed initially, it was marked more at 45 degrees to the ball.

Slight lapse in concentration in the heat of the back nine on Sunday day is all I can think. Didn't seem to be any serious break to avoid or green imperfections plus she only replaced less than an inch from original spot so hard to see what was being gained. Only Lexi knows why.... or does she?

[Crow357]

"Hi, I'd like to call in a rules infraction from the 1986 World Cup, please."

[Drgnslyr221]

I'm ok with the two stroke penalty for the misplace of the ball. I'm not ok with the penalty of signing a wrong scorecard 24 hours after the fact. When she signed it that was the correct score. I always thought that penalty should be for purposeful malfeasance.

[IanD]

Daft.... why pick the ball up?

 

Never understood why you are allowed to pick a ball up, unless it is in the line of a putt. If you are only able to clean a ball when it isn't in play, problem solved.

[Drgnslyr221]

Have you ever played on a wet course? Not being able to clean a big glob of mud off your ball before putting would suck.

[IanD]

Of course I've played a wet course, and had plenty of grass attached to it. But, it would be a level playing field with everyone enduring the same issues.

 

It could be said, the better the course, the better the score....

[Dazmaniac]

Daft.... why pick the ball up?

 

Never understood why you are allowed to pick a ball up, unless it is in the line of a putt. If you are only able to clean a ball when it isn't in play, problem solved.

 

She didn't just pick it up. She marked it. It was the replacing of the ball that was the ultimate issue.

 

I guess she was just going through the routine. She motioned as if she was going to just finish out without marking but then thought btter of it and decided to mark it.

[Greensboronclion]

The bottom line is that you have to take the fan out of the game of calling in infractions and until you do some wannabe is going to sit there and find them and keep calling them in.  If you do it on the day of play I have no problem with the penalty and it was caught by an official but to let a fan call in and the next day and penalize her on the back nine on Sunday is absurd and ruining Pro Golf and must stop now. 

[M Rose]

I think my problem with this entire thing is you can't vouch for the neutrality / impartiality of the caller. What if they have an agenda? What if they had a significant wager on the outcome? What if they were Korean? What if they don't like Lexi Thompson personally?
 

And furthermore, in that case, consider the possibility that they knew of the penalty but purposely withheld it until a later time to inflict a maximum penalty on the victim. I would assume someone very intimate with the rules of golf would know of additional penalties for signing a wrong card.... so the timing of when they report the infraction is also a factor.

 

Then consider what happens if this infraction occurs on the 17th hole on Sunday, and is not discovered until Monday. Because the tournament is complete, the results cannot be changed, and she wins by four.

 

All of these variations make for a messy situation that makes nobody happy.

[Tigers Agent]

My first reaction was.. this lady was the leader and usually the leader is followed by most of the gallery. all the cameras? What did a person on TV see that even the announcers missed? Didn't they all have the same views? maybe even more?

[Drgnslyr221]

These rules by and large were written before the age of the internet.  Having a fan spot it and report it on the course same day and advise the player before he/she signs their scorecard I'm all for. Adding in fans with 4k tvs and DVR is just a can of worms no one in their right mind would want to tackle.

[Drgnslyr221]

I've seen some people accusing her of doing it on purpose. It was a one foot putt!! I see no possible benefit to that and a ton of risk as we see now.