As the 2013 Masters tournament unfolded on Friday, Tiger Woods hit a shot on the beautiful 15th hole that ricocheted off the flag and remarkably spun back into the water. As the sporting public watched in stunned silence, having been wobbled by incredible bad luck, surveyed the situation, gathered himself, considered his options, and made his drop.
That's when things got interesting. Watching the telecast, no one commented on the drop. Everyone was dumbfounded that the ball hit the pin and spun back into the water. When Tiger went onto to hit an incredible recovery shot to within 3 feet and made the resilient bogey putt, he kept his tournament hopes alive.
After the round, Tiger was interviewed by ESPN and commented that he dropped the ball 2 yards back from the original spot. The PGA and Masters phone lines then lit up when the public called in and flagged a potential rules violation in not dropping the ball near the original spot. Many said that Tiger should have known the rule, took an improper drop, should have been penalized an additional two strokes, then went on to sign an incorrect scorecard and should have been disqualified. On the other hand, at the time, he did not know the score was incorrect and did not knowingly sign an improper card.
Due to the phoning public, the Masters rules committee reviewed the shot prior to Tiger's round ending and ruled that the drop was proper and no penalty required. After the public phoned in yet again and referenced Tiger's ESPN interview, did the rules committee rule that Tiger violated a rule and would be given a two shot penalty. This all transpired on Saturday, the day after the original shot.
What's amazing to me is the public's involvement in the sport of golf. In no other sport, does the public get to have direct input. We have all witnessed incorrect calls in baseball, soccer, football, and basketball and the play goes on and we live with the outcome. In golf the public has a say and can determine the outcome after the play has occurred and can impact the event the next day. Astonishing.
Every sport has officials including golf. The officials must make a determination at the time of the occurrence, to come back after the fact with feedback from the viewing public detracts from the event.
Just like in other sports, there is human error and golf is no exception. Part of the human error perhaps adds to the drama.
The time has come to eliminate the fans from determining the outcome of golf events.
Tom Kaufmann
Coach K
No comments:
Post a Comment