"I figure if I hit it in there, I should have to play it as it lies. I was very surprised by what they did. I’ve never seen a rule like that before.”

The ghost of Bivens strikes!

Jim Achenbach reports on one of the stranger committee calls: lift, clean, place in the semi roughs at Pumpkin Ridge for this weeks' Swine Flu Safeway Classic, where the players not dropping out with a mysterious illness are gettting to take drops in the rough.

Pumpkin Ridge is dry as a bone, groomed by superintendent Bill Webster to be firm and fast, similar to U.S. Open conditions.

Sue Witters, manager of tournament competitions, clarified the reasons for the step-cut addendum, which had never before been used in any LPGA tournament: “Several weeks ago, we asked Pumpkin to put in the step-cut. It’s about six feet wide, or two paces. Normally they don’t have one. Unfortunately, there was a record heat wave, and the step-cut took the brunt of it. It’s spotty, the ground is cracked, it’s a lot more extensive that we originally thought it was.”

Marking the affected areas, according to Witters, was out of the question because a player might be able (remaining within one club length, no closer to the ball) to place her ball in the fairway. This would not be fair, Witters indicated.

On the other hand, veteran Heather Young was more philosophical. “In golf, if you miss the fairway, you’re in the rough,” Young said. “That heavy grass is rough. It isn’t that bad. I figure if I hit it in there, I should have to play it as it lies. I was very surprised by what they did. I’ve never seen a rule like that before.”
Pumpkin Ridge officials were furious.

“We weren’t told until this morning,” Webster said. “I was shocked. Sure, it was tough on the edges, but it’s always been that way. You get that around here with seasonal grasses.”

Comments

[Jim]

The saddest part of this is that it's another example of why, perhaps, this LPGA should just die off, hopefully to be replaced with a superior organization, one that doesn't coddle its players like little kids and that can make smart negotiating choices around the world on their behalf.

[Walking Golfer]

As a marshal at the tournament I could not figure out what was going on and why the women were allowed to "cheat" - lifting and placing their ball from essentially perfect lies in the semi-rough to get "teed up" perfect lies. It is a total embarassment to the game of golf.

[David Mihm]

It made a lot more sense on Saturday, as there was a torrential downpour in the middle of the round that lasted about 15-20 minutes. There was standing water on a couple of the greens for a considerable period of time, and I mistakenly credited the LPGA with foresight to balance playing conditions for the entire field throughout the day. Then, during an absolutely PERFECT day yesterday I saw it again & had the same reaction Rob did. There's just no reason the players should have been allowed to put the ball in their hands. The first cut at Pumpkin is in better shape than most fairways at other public courses in the area.