 |
| Tiger's illegal drop at Augusta National's 15th hole. Arrow points to original divot. |
ESPN says there was a Rules Official present with Tiger's group on that 15th hole. He must've been on a potty break, because Masters Tournament Rules Committee Chairman, Fred Riley, said he was alerted to the infraction by a TV viewer. By the time he watched the videotape Tiger was already playing the 18th hole (elapsed time 45-minutes). Based on that video review the Rules Committee determined Tiger had done nothing wrong. So they said nothing to him about it before he signed his card.
Have you seen the videotape? One of the CBS camera angles (shot by the guy above) clearly shows Tiger standing a few feet behind the divot from his first shot. What was Ridley looking at? Whatever he saw, he gave the most lenient possible reading of the Water Hazard rule:
26-1a. ...playing a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played..."
Then Tiger went on TV and said he intentionally moved back "a couple yards" to give himself a better distance to the pin. Uh-oh, now Ridley knows there was a rules violation. So he and his compadres turned to golf's newest politically-correct rule:
33-7. Disqualification Penalty; Committee Discretion
A penalty of disqualification may in exceptional individual cases be waived, modified or imposed if the Committee considers such action warranted.
Obviously the Committee considered a waiver warranted. Why? Here are the words from Ridley's written statement: "The penalty of disqualification was waived by the Committee under Rule 33 as the Committee had previously reviewed the information and made its initial determination prior to the finish of the player’s round."
Those words are english, but what do they mean? The DQ was waived because the committee had been mistaken earlier. What chain of logic is that? Because we missed the call earlier, we feel bad and we're gonna give Tiger a break. Or more expansively: Because the on-course official missed the call, and we weren't watching the telecast, Tiger didn't get a warning about the infraction, and the consequences became too severe after he signed his card. No matter how you slice it, their ruling has no foundation other than Tiger Woods being an "exceptional individual." Their explanation is both dissembling and disingenuous.
Given the fame of this decision, what rules committee at any PGA Tour event will ever allow a DQ to stand? Ignorance of the rules, and signing an incorrect card are now officially deemed by golf's most prestigious Major Tournament to be immediately excusable. How is this mushy-minded decision anything other than sloppy spillage of Moral Hazard?
Those words are english, but what do they mean? The DQ was waived because the committee had been mistaken earlier. What chain of logic is that? Because we missed the call earlier, we feel bad and we're gonna give Tiger a break. Or more expansively: Because the on-course official missed the call, and we weren't watching the telecast, Tiger didn't get a warning about the infraction, and the consequences became too severe after he signed his card. No matter how you slice it, their ruling has no foundation other than Tiger Woods being an "exceptional individual." Their explanation is both dissembling and disingenuous.
Given the fame of this decision, what rules committee at any PGA Tour event will ever allow a DQ to stand? Ignorance of the rules, and signing an incorrect card are now officially deemed by golf's most prestigious Major Tournament to be immediately excusable. How is this mushy-minded decision anything other than sloppy spillage of Moral Hazard?
No comments:
Post a Comment