Fore please! Running Masters thread

Really could care less for sportscasters (of all people) trying to turn an event into some sort of social crusade.

If Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus wanted to organize some sort of player boycott back in the day to bring attention to something, they could have done so. Apparently, they didn't feel it was their place to do so or it wasn't worth doing. I've rethought a lot of things about Augusta National in recent years, but if it's good enough for the rest of the world, it's enough for me.

CBS produces the telecast and just airs the first two rounds on ESPN. If ESPN wants to raise those issues, it would have to come on SportsCenters, Outside the Lines, etc., not the telecast of the actual tournament itself. It's well-publicized that Masters officials maintain tight control of the telecast, including what announcers can and cannot say. If CBS/ESPN pulled that stunt, someone else would have next year's contract.

I'm fine with that. When I tune into to watch, I want to...... well, watch golf.

 

I had honestly never heard of the penalty assessed to Tiger before.

It was my understanding that on a penalty drop, you could go back as far as you wished, so long as you kept the line where the ball entered the hazard. I guess I sort of see the logic in it (lie, distance, etc.), but it's one of those obscure rules like the one that snared Dustin Johnson at the 2010 PGA Championship.

 

Gotcha. So he complied with neither official option? I've always dropped where the ball crossed the margin of the hazard.... and I gave up counting how many I've dumped in the water over the years.... probably about as many as they used to plug the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

OK, so I guess the question is "did anyone tell Tiger a penalty was being assessed BEFORE he signed his card Friday night?" If he didn't know he was being penalized, then he didn't know. So he gets the two-stroke penalty and life goes on. Even with all of this, he's four shots behind, which is pretty amazing.

 

Hey, I didn't say nuthin'.

 

Thank you. That was a much more understandable explanation than anything I've read online at the sports news sites today. (I was out Friday night and much of Saturday, so was sort of shocked when I first heard the news mid afternoon.)

 

The reason he should have DQ'd himself is obvious:

He fucked up. In his rage over getting screwed by the perfect shot, he walked to the drop area and seemingly forgot where the ball last crossed the hazard. This is why he thought it was ok to go two yards back. When he was alerted there was a potential violation, he should have owned up to the fact that he CLEARLY mixed up the rule and added two strokes to his score BEFORE he signed the card. He obviously did not want to do that. That's what makes it bullshit.

The rules official can't really determine if he sorta dropped it in the same area, but Tiger clearly knows he mixed up the rule. And players are constantly reminded that ignorance is not an excuse. He went backward to improve his lie when that wasn't an option. He was them questioned about it. Whatever explantion he gave Ridley before he signed the card was b.s. based on his comments to Rinaldi. This is why Faldo and Chamblee are so adamant that he should have withdrawn, even though ANGC had enough wiggle room to keep him in the tournament.

This was no ones fault but his. He forgot the rule. He didn't own up to it when initially confronted. He had the option to consult a rules official on the course if it was in doubt.

He himself insisted when it came to Guan that "rules are rules." He just didn't mean for himself, apparently.

 

your comment seemed directed at me -- or possibly to me. too often it's easy to lose track on looong posts whose comment is directed at whom. my sincerest apologies if your swipe was directed elsewhere, mod1. mea culpa.