"There were other players out on the course playing for large amounts of money and they still managed to play within the time schedule we set."
As expected, John Paramor's defense of Sunday's on-the-clock warning to Padraig Harrington and Tiger Woods, as told to Lawrence Donegan.
By the time Harrington and Woods stepped on to Firestone's 16th tee the group in front had just left the green 670 yards ahead. After Paramor's warning to speed up, the Irishman ran up a triple-bogey eight, which turned his one-shot lead over Woods into a three-shot deficit and all but ended the tournament as a contest.
"I'm sorry Padraig hit the ball in the water. I wanted a grandstand finish like everyone else,'' the rules official said. "I was simply carrying out the policy we have on slow play. If as a consequence of me doing what I am employed to do was that Padraig hit a poor shot then I am desperately sorry for him. There is no way I wanted that to happen. In fact, I would have liked the ball to have gone in the hole because it would have saved a great deal of time."
Zing!
And this is beautiful:
To the exalted list of those who have been unable to intimidate Paramor, the world of golf can now add the illustrious name of Woods.
"When we were on the 17th fairway Tiger said to me "Are we still on the clock?" and I said to him "Yes",'' said Paramor. "He then pointed to the group in front and asked me if I could see them. I said yes, but I think he thought they were closer than they actually were. In fact, they were on the 18th hole. You can't put anyone off the clock when the group in front are a hole ahead."
Geoff
Donegan posts this blog item adding some context to Paramor's remarks.
Reader Comments (23)
Of a bigger concern-did anyone see Padraig's 73-yard wedge shot out of a bad lie in deep rough on the 14th, which spun back like a yo-yo? Thank god Finchem didn't cave in on those grooves!
Nantz remarked at how much spin he was able to put on the ball, but nobody mentioned the grooves.
I like how he points out that being in the last group doesn't entitle you to an extra 20 minutes that your competitors don't have.
http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1915671,00.html?eref=golf
So, lets figure that because of the enormous, rambunctious gallery, it adds 30 seconds per hole, so in reality they are only 8 minutes behind..I mean is Paramor so dense that he cannot tell the difference between a Rory Sabbatini/Rich Beem who-gives-a-shite twosome and a Tiger/Paddy (winners of 5 of the last 9 majors), twosome in the best duel of the year?????....I mean, I am sure Paddy/tiger at some point was ready to hit a shot or putt, only to back away because some idiot with a camera stops him, or there is movement in the gallery 70 yards down the fairway. etc.
The PGA are idiots and John Paramor is an offish, effete snob of the highest order.
You have what every golf fan prays for: Tiger behind by a stroke....Paddy playing relentlessly plodding golf...two completely contrasting styles, but both with fierce determination and competitiveness.
Then the Nazis following the rules come out, without looking at the bigger picture....what if Paddy wins...just think about the storyline/anticipation at the PGA next week.
So all you small minded idiots who talk about the rules etc. think about this: suppose Paddy chips out and pars the hole...Tiger taps in...all even going to the final holes....
Then John Paramor steps in and says Paddy took too long on the shot...is penalized and is now down one. Lets see him interviewed by Jim Nantz or Feherty....does he have stones to make THAT CALL?
Rules are rules.....but men have judgment and common sense...yes a starving man is technically guilty of theft for stealing a loaf of bread..and John Paramor would certainly say he should pay for the bread like everyone else right?
And, finally, some say the last time this rule was enforced was either 1992 or 1982....its like being in one of those states which still has sodomy rules and being jailed for an insane enforcement of an archaic law without an officer using discretion or wisdom right "tightass" I mean "tighthead"
Very thoughtful and well articulated. I'm with you 100% on all points.
I dont know where all this crap about the rule not being applied since the 80s comes from!Players are warned/timed virtually every week and have been for years.I'd personally like to see the slow play rules much more stringent then we could really do something about it.Mind you the rules are written by the players committee so I'm not going to hold my breath!
It was 1992. Given to now PGA Tour rules official Dillard Pruitt. The articles yesterday mentioning 1982 were incorrect. USA Today posted a correction of the year last night on its website.
Plus, the first step after a bad time is a warning, not a one-stroke penalty. That would require TWO bad times, if I'm reading things properly. So both Tiger and Paddy had "one bad time" to spare with no real consequence.
Sorry, q, I can't agree. The travesty isn't that Paramor got in the middle of a competition, it's that Woods and Harrington can't play fast enough to follow what are fairly simple rules about pace of play.
Come on. These aren't starving kids stealing bread to save their lives. They are professional athletes - professionals - which means you cope with the shit that goes along with being in the lead on Sunday.
They take too freaking long to play. The Tour should be even tougher, handing out stroke penalties sooner. Tiger's a big star and means everything to the tour. So he should be a man and take responsibility, and then everyone else follows. His railing against the tour and the rules only incites more insubordination. He's in his 30s and he still acts like he's 19, with the cursing, petulant club throwing, and his hubris and blatant disregard for the rules. Whatever happened to nobody being "bigger than the game?"
Genaral - hope eveybody reads that-superb.
They were after all, the last group, it was great for the game of golf...in basketball, one is allowed 10 seconds to shoot a free throw by rule....so you rules guys are telling me that with 2 seconds left to play, Dwayne Wade takes 11 seconds...makes the free throw, but the ref nullifies it by saying he took one second too long...ok I know you rule Nazis are gonna argue what if a guy takes 25 seconds to shoot, should we allow it...or what if he takes 10 seconds to cross the half court line....yes, good arguments, but these rules are enforced EVERY time...
Don't you narrow minded apparatchiks get the CONTEXT????????? The last time this was enforced was when Bush the elder was PRESIDENT....
I say the best way to handle this was to wait till after the match, have a players meeting and in the strictest of terms inform them that at the PGA next week, ANYONE breaking the rules will be dealt with severely...then in the first round, nail someone...that will get the players attention.
Its just like in baseball, everyone knows what the strike zone should be..its in the rule book, but each year, the umpires sit down with the players and tell them how the zone will be applied...for example, now the high strike is called, when forever, it wasn't.
Just like this case, if its been since 1992...well, you get the idea...I hope...
They werent given a bad time or penalised or fined-they were merely put on the clock-something that happens on a daily basis in pro golf on virtually any hole and something that has happened to both players before.They should have been able to handle it no problem-they are not 17yr old rookies.99 WEEKS OUT OF 100 this would not even have been a story.