There
has been just a little bit of discussion about Rory’s magnificent club throw
this week during the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Several questions have arisen regarding the Rules of Golf
implications and they are worth further discussion:
Why Wasn’t Rory
Disqualified?
Frankly, because the Tour doesn’t
use Rule 33-7 to disqualify players for bad behavior. Serious Breaches of Etiquette on Tour typically suffer a
different consequence – Fines. We
will probably not find out how much that club throw cost Rory’s bank account,
but you can be assured that he won’t go unpunished.
Had
the throw occurred in an NCGA Championship, NCAA event or pretty much any
amateur competition, that magnificent throw would likely be what we call a
“One-and-Done.” This means that we
would probably disqualify the player for a serious breach of etiquette under
Rule 33-7 even if it were his first breach. The throw is so egregious that it warrants more than a
warning.
Why is He Allowed to
Put it Back in His Bag?
One
key to answering this question is that the club was not damaged or
altered. It was simply thrown and
then later recovered. Had the club
been damaged, putting it back into his bag today could bring about dire
consequences if the club was damaged so that it was rendered
non-conforming. If it were
non-conforming, he would incur a two-stroke penalty for each hole he carries
the club with a maximum penalty of four strokes per round. If he used the non-conforming club, he
would be disqualified (Rule 4-1).
However,
the club was not damaged and has not been rendered non-conforming. Therefore, he is entitled to add the
club back to his bag like any other club, provided the total number of clubs
carried does not exceed 14 (Rule 4-4).
Other golf fans may have been watching the end of a
different tournament yesterday evening, as the HSBC Women’s Champions in
Singapore concluded last night.
One notable incident occurred on the 12th hole.
Stacy Lewis and the
Palm Tree
Stacy’s
second shot on the par-5 12th hole veered well left of target. When she arrived in the area the ball
was likely to be she could not find it, and some spectators in the area
suggested that it never came down from the palm tree. This was confirmed with television and Stacy was certain the
ball was at rest in the palm tree.
Unfortunately (for her caddie), there is no Rule of Golf that provides
relief (with or without penalty) for having virtual certainty a ball is in a
tree. If she could not find and
identify her golf ball she would be required to proceed under penalty of stroke
and distance for a lost ball (Ball not Found within Five Minutes, Rule 27-1c).
Stacy
elected to call a Rules Official, and for the sake of argument the official
arrived within five minutes (although I think the official really did get there
in time). Using the cart as a
ladder, Stacy’s caddie climbed up and found the ball. Stacy was careful (under guidance of the official) to
declare the ball unplayable in case her caddie moved it in the process of
climbing the tree. Apparently,
what made this tree more dangerous were some bees or insects that no one really
wanted to have to deal with.
Since
Stacy’s caddie found her ball, Stacy was able to use the third option of Rule
28 to drop the ball within two club-lengths of the point directly beneath where
it lay in the tree (see Decision 28/11).
She made a mediocre pitch and an incredible putt to save par and stay in
the hunt.
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