"But will his fellow pros be so lenient, once they have all had a chance to see it?"

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Lawrence Donegan reports that Kenny Perry has been cleared of a possible rules violation that occurred during the FBR Open playoff. Video evidence suggested that Perry had improved his lie. I've seen it. Not good. But also not hard to come away feeling like there was intent of any kind. Then again, the rules of golf don't care about intent.

Rule 13–2 of the Rules of Golf states that a player is not allowed to improve "the position or lie of his ball". Mark Russell, a senior rules official with the PGA Tour, said he had "no problem whatsoever" with Perry's actions, adding that the footage was "inconclusive".

"During the course of the telecast of the FBR Open‚ we received no calls from viewers reporting a potential rules violation involving Kenny Perry. When a question was raised this week, several members of the tournament committee reviewed the videotape of Kenny Perry, and no evidence of any rules violation was found ... We will have no further comment on the matter,'' he said.

The Super Bowl had started at that point so I'm pretty viewership was light to non-existent.

Derek Lawrenson notes in the Daily Mail:

By waving his wedge behind his ball before playing a chip shot during a play-off against Charley Hoffman, Perry raised the question of whether he had improved his lie, and thereby broken the rules. After a further review on Sunday, US Tour rules officials exonerated the personable man from Kentucky, who charmed everyone with his grace in defeat at the Masters.

But will his fellow pros be so lenient, once they have all had a chance to see it? Or will this be like the Colin Montgomerie saga in Indonesia a few years ago, when he was cleared by the referee at the time of wrongdoing, only to be declared guilty a month later by a court of his peers?

Lift, Clean, Place Claims Another Victim

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From the AP story on Will MacKenzie's costly mistake Saturday at the Viking Classic.

MacKenzie's triple bogey Saturday on the par-5 18th left him tied for second with Brian Gay, two strokes behind Turnesa on the Annandale course. MacKenzie was penalized for moving impediments in the hazard while his ball was also in the hazard.
Turnesa, a PGA TOUR rookie who also topped the second-round leaderboard, shot a 6-under 66 for a 17-under 199 total. MacKenzie and Gay had 67s.
MacKenzie, who has one TOUR victory, the Reno-Tahoe Open in 2006, opened with birdies on the first two holes and made the turn at 32. His only stumble before 18 was a bogey on the fourth hole.
MacKenzie said he "spaced out" after a day of being able to lift, clean and place his ball because of wet conditions. There were a a few blades of grass near his ball, not anything that would be a problem, he said.
MacKenzie said he brushed them away with his hand, then he realized what he had done and told an official, who assessed the penalty.

"When we come back Monday morning, there are several hundred questions in there.”

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Bill Pennington files a nice profile on the USGA Rules Department and the unsung work they do.

Monday through Friday, 40 hours a week, it is their full-time job to answer the phone calls, e-mail messages and mailings of everyday golfers who are perplexed or confounded by some element in the 181 pages of the Rules of Golf. How perplexed or confounded?

The U.S.G.A. fields and answers about 20,000 rule queries every year.

“They come in year-round but we are busiest from late May to September,” Fahleson said. “When we leave on a Friday, it’s not unusual for the rules e-mail in-box to be empty. When we come back Monday morning, there are several hundred questions in there.”

 In most other sports, be it beer-league softball or youth soccer, there is an umpire, referee or official presiding over the action to make decisions and enforce rulings. In golf, 99 percent of the time, the players are on their own trying to figure out what the appropriate ruling should be. And let’s face it, people don’t understand the rules as well as they think. And the rules can be unduly complicated.

“We do try to make the rules as simple as possible, but we’re dealing with a game played across thousands of acres, with so many outside factors like weather and wildlife,” said Bernie Loehr, U.S.G.A. manager for the Rules of Golf. “There are a lot of situations that can happen and so many possibilities to consider.”

USGA, R&A Move Quickly To Address Mistake...

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...unfortunately it had nothing to do with the golf ball. Instead, it was to address a stupid rule change and not anything of consequence. 

Stewart Cink will not be DQ'd in the future for practicing basic etiquette based on today's USGA release.

Though based on something John Vander Borght interpreted in his blog entry, I'd still say this needs work. If you are in a front bunker and hit it in the back bunker, don't rake the front one until you've finished making a mess of the hole.

Why can't we just play it as it lies? I'm so glad Max Behr isn't here to see this disaster. 

"Unless Rory has a death wish, he better donate that money to Woods' charity, the tournament beneficiary."

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Steve Elling and Ross Devonport debate the issues, with both agreeing that Rory Sabbatini needs to give back his Target World Challenge winnings.

Speaking of which, does anyone else find it odd that in our little 24/7 world, Rory's agent has not made sure to let every golf writer know that his client has decided to turn his winnings over to the foundation?  Here we are several days removed from his WD and the ensuing fallout, and not a word on his web site.

Does this mean he's sticking to his shin splits defense?

You have to figure if there is no gesture on Sabbatini's part soon, he will be the focus of media coverage at Kapalua. And that won't be pretty if he makes it into the interview room.

For Immediate Release, Bury It On A Saturday In August Edition

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When you have star power like Bobby Clampett, it's hard to fathom a show with this much promise is going to be buried on a summer Saturday when most of the world is not glued to their computers. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“RULES OF THE GAME” INTERACTIVE GOLF QUIZ SHOW PREMIERES

AUGUST 18TH ON CBS SPORTS AND GOLFDIGEST.COM

Hosts Bill Macatee and Bobby Clampett Make Sense of Golf’s Trickiest Rules

Burbank, CA (August 13, 2007) – The first ever web interactive television quiz show highlighting the rules of golf premieres August 18, 2007 (4PM Eastern) on CBS Sports and GolfDigest.com.

RULES OF THE GAME is a one-hour special highlighting funny, surprising, and unexpected applications of the rules of golf in a fast-paced interactive quiz format.  The show, shot on location from Ginn Reunion Resort in Orlando, Florida, features memorable moments from PGA Tour events, as well as re-enactments performed by CBS Sports golf team members Bill Macatee and Bobby Clampett.

Among the gems revealed on the show are:
        - The penalty for asking your opponent about his club selection.
        - The penalty for tapping in a short putt with the grip end of your putter.
        - The options presented by a shot that has landed on a bridge.

- The penalty for accidentally tapping a ball during a tee-box waggle.

Viewers are also encouraged to log on to www.GolfDigest.com to play along with the quiz throughout the broadcast.  Those completing the quiz will be ranked on the accuracy of their answers.

RULES OF THE GAME is produced by Juma Entertainment in conjunction with the editors of Golf Digest.  Bob Horowitz is creator and executive producer.  CBS Sports’ Bill Macatee and Bobby Clampett are the hosts.  RULES OF THE GAME is sponsored by Bobby Jones Golf Company and the PGA Tour SuperStore.


"I was as surprised as anybody. I've never seen that ruling before."

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img10261963.jpgSteve Elling looks at the controversy over Tiger's controversial first round drop.
After opening with a 2-under 69 to begin his bid to become the first player in a half-century to win three consecutive British Open belts, Woods had to explain his role in a curious ruling that some claimed was caused by preferential treatment by a rules official.

Woods was 3 under when he hit a drive dead left on the 10th hole, which is when everything else started moving sideways as well. Given the sketchy explanation that officials with the Royal & Ancient Golf Club offered with regard to the ensuing free drop he received, the saucy British tabs fast made a federal case out of the questionable ruling.

Actually, since we're overseas, it was more of an international incident. Apparently, the belief abroad is that Woods not only rules the game, he rules the rulemakers.

After Woods yanked his drive into what might be the only stand of trees for miles, his ball came to rest on a line of television cables resting in the thick grass. Ninety-nine times out of 100, rules protocol calls for a player to mark the ball, move the cables, then drop the ball in the same spot with no penalty.

However, Woods said the R&A rules official on the scene, Alan Holmes, instead offered a free drop several feet away in an area that had been trampled by fans, claiming the cables were an immovable obstruction. Mark Roe, a BBC radio reporter and former European Tour player, was shadowing Woods' group and said he moved the cables with relative ease afterward. He more than insinuated that Holmes was intimidated.

"I think the R&A official became a jellyfish the moment Tiger Woods asked for a drop," Roe said on the air.

Roe added later: "I am absolutely disgusted. In 21 years, I've never seen a drop like it. The rules official has made a big mistake."

Woods shrugged and tried to explain what happened.

"It was a weird drop," he said. "I was as surprised as anybody. I've never seen that ruling before."

"There's a chance somebody with the USGA will take a look at it"

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img10223160.jpgSteve Elling on Phil's wrist injury, with an interesting take on the support device he's wearing:

Mickelson received a cortisone shot last week, has been trying muscle massage, rehab therapy and various forms of stimulation to increase blood flow to the affected area, and is traveling with a shaman of sorts, former Green Beret Jim Weathers, whose business card lists him as "motivational speaker, shiatsu master and reflexologist."

The wrist is so iffy that doctors ordered Mickelson not to practice, sign autographs or participate in any "strenuous workouts." (Note to Tiger Woods fans: Insert punchline here).

Facts are, the Open isn't a place you come when you are nursing a hand injury -- it's a place you leave with one. Witness Woods at Shinnecock in 1995, when he hit a ball into the high rough, tweaked a wrist while hacking out of the hay, and had to withdraw.

Mickelson might face another uncomfortable hurdle, as in whether the wrist wrap is copacetic in the eyes of the golf rulebook. USGA rules official John Morrissett said Tuesday that he had not inspected the wrap Lefty is wearing, but said it appeared to be made of an "Ace bandage material with no rigid parts." Players are prohibited from using swing-aids and devices designed to restrict wrist movement.

The bandage covers part of Mickelson's left thumb, the back of his hand and encircles his entire wrist. Clearly, taping the wrist is intended to keep Mickelson from further straining the injury and any swing benefit would not be his directed intent. Mickelson joked there could be a crossover effect.

"I would say this will help me keep it one shot at a time, and this brace will help me alleviate any extra wrist break at the top of the swing that I may have," he said.

Then Mickelson turned to a nearby USGA media official and cracked, "Is it OK if I use this (bandage) now that I said that?"

Let's not dismiss it with a flip of the wrist. Morrissett said the bandage "doesn't appear to inhibit movement in the wrist," though it will likely restrict and support it to some degree. Otherwise, why wear it at all? Mickelson even indicated he would tighten the bandage before hitting shots.

"There's a chance somebody with the USGA will take a look at it," Morrissett said.

Okay rules aficionados, what do you think?