Monty To The Rescue: "The R&A and USGA have served the game of golf for a long, long time and long may that continue."

From an unbylined wire story, the former Ryder Cup captain says the PGA Tour's position against the anchoring ban "has opened up a whole new can of worms," and says "it's a very dangerous situation we are getting ourselves into and I do hope they can sort this out very, very quickly."

But this is the most important point he makes about Tim Finchem's remarks: precedent.

"He's said 'we abide by the rules of golf, but I think we are going to change this one.' Does that mean other rules can change as well? We want to play as one under the same rules."

Comments

[joe]

So now Monty joins the corrupt despoiler of The Old Course as individuals worthy of our respect. Sheesh.

[DTF]

For those of you keeping score at home...

- today we like Monty.
- today Ernie is a moron and a jerk and a cheater.

Me personally I liked Monty all along ;0) The only tour pro I've ever been around who was truly a blighter is Charlie Sifford.

[No longer Used to be Former Stack & Tilt Convert]

Monty is dead on the money. This is dangerous and they need to sort it out quickly. Whether you like him or not isn't point.

[Jim S]

I wasn't expecting that bifurcation was going to mean a split between the USGA/R&A and the PGA Tour, but maybe that's what we'll do--the Tour will keep using the current balls and equipment, which leaves room for the USGA/R&A to roll back the ball and keep the traditional amateur game alive.

I suppose that the European Tour would side with the PGA Tour, and so the professional game would be unified as separate from the amateur game?

[MattS]

I'm sure that when there was a 'local rule' for lift clean and place that Monty simply played the ball down because that is what the rules are.

[Bobby D]

"The only tour pro I've ever been around who was truly a blighter is Charlie Sifford. "

I can second that...but Crampton wasn't much fun either :o)

[Chico]

Like him or not its hard not to agree with him on this one.

[Arthur Nelson]

Add Kite to the list, IMO.

[Digger Dave *is* digsouth]

Monty nailed it. And I have always like him, except for that ''me, me, me again deal on the RC captainship. Poor taste.

[Press Agent]

The key in my mind is there should not be a split between the governing bodies and the tours. And Matt, there is no parallel between the two issues, it's akin to saying the tour could go around week to week and say one week you can play with long putter and one week you can't based on how much rain or wind or sun there is that week.

[carnaptious and camsteerie]

Looking awfully like the european tour will be coming down on the side of the governing bodies ...

"O’Grady and the Tour have been put in an invidious position, but it is understood there is little appetite to wage war against the rules-makers."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/europeantour/9893361/European-Tour-likely-to-back-RandA-and-go-against-American-players-on-belly-putter-ban.html

[J Sanders]

Matts, the local rule for lift clean and place is in the rules of golf. Read appendix 1.

So are all the other rules that players have mentioned as meaning they play under different rules.

[chicago pt]

whts up with Sifford and Kite?

[Colin MacGillivray]

J Sanders- youre right but the PGATour invokes clean and place when most club committees would not. The PGATour clearly doesn't want viewers to notice because the TV coverage almost never shows a player doing it. I watched a competition last year on TV and only knew it was happening because TIger mentioned it in his interview.

[Monty's Pal]

He really is a great guy. Just has a bad P.R. guy.