Tangled Webb During Sudden Death Playoff?

Golfweek's roundup of Sunday's Zurich Classic finale explains what happened with Webb Simpson's violation at the 15th hole, costing him a stroke that ultimately forced a playoff loss to Bubba Watson.

Simpson made bogey on the 15th hole after calling a one-stroke penalty on himself when his ball oscillated on the green. He was leading by one stroke at the time.

“You get greens like this that are burned out, balls are going to move all over the place,” he said. “It’s unfortunate.”

Simpson made birdie on the first playoff hole, after putting his second shot on the par-5 finishing hole over the green. On the second extra hole, he couldn’t get up-and-down out of a greenside bunker and settled for par.

Afterward, however, the talk focused on the ruling on 15 green.

“You have to call it on yourself in that situation,” he said. “But it stinks that the tournament might have been decided by a rule that’s borderline a good rule. I’m a little disappointed, but I’ll learn from it and hopefully have another chance next week.”

But it's what went on at #18 that caught the eye of several readers here and elsewhere online. Reader BenSeattle wrote:

When (on the first hole of the playoff) Simpson was took a drop from the greenside sprinkler and was allowed to PLACE his ball by hand after the first two rolled down the slope, didn't his first "place" come to rest? I thought it did when he took his hand away but just a second later he picked it up and tried once more. Again, it seemed to turn maybe a half revolution and settle but Simpson quickly picked it up again and then finally placed it in a spot to his liking.

Am I being a stickler or merely uninformed if I should maintain that Simpson picked up a ball that had legally "come to rest," was therefore IN PLAY and therefore Webb should have been penallized for THAT infraction as well?

Reader Red concurred:

After Simpson released his fingers from the ball when placing the first time, it appeared to be at rest. When he lifted it, I immediately thought, "Uh oh." I had a strong feeling that a couple of tour officials became instantly sick to their stomachs But when nothing came of it, I mentally let it go and assumed it MUST have moved..

According to the Rule-20...

d. Ball Fails To Come To Rest on Spot

If a ball when placed fails to come to rest on the spot on which it was placed, there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced. If it still fails to come to rest on that spot:

(i) except in a hazard, it must be placed at the nearest spot where it can be placed at rest that is not nearer the hole and not in a hazard;
  (ii) in a hazard, it must be placed in the hazard at the nearest spot where it can be placed at rest that is not nearer the hole.

If a ball when placed comes to rest on the spot on which it is placed, and it subsequently moves, there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies, unless the provisions of any other Rule apply.

The tape would seem to indicate the ball was at rest and perhaps because of nerves or because he thought it was moving, Simpson grabbed it again and tried to place it.  I'll leave it to you rules gurus to hash this one out. It doesn't impact the event either way, but it would be good to know!

2011 Zurich Classic Final Round Open Thread

They have a nice leaderboard down in New Orleans so hopefully it'll lead to an exciting finish, as it often does there. I'll be recording but not watching. I know that makes your day better knowing that.

"Maldives plans 18-hole floating golf course"

Here I was thinking the royal wedding was pricey, but then reader Rob sends me this Wired story by Duncan Greere about plans for a $500 million "floating" golf course.

The 18-hole course might sound like the kind of energy-guzzling project you'd see off the coast of Dubai, but it's intended to have zero footprint on its environment. It's powered by solar energy -- a resource that the Maldives has plenty of, lying as it does just north of the equator, and the development will also employ sustainable desalination and water cooling techniques.

The course will be made up of a series of floating platforms containing two or three holes each, which will be linked together and to a series of surrounding hotels by underwater tunnels. Waterstudio.NL designed the project, which is being engineered by floating-architecture expert Dutch Docklands. Troon Golf is on hand to offer their expertise in the design of the course itself.

"I wasn't trying to run a popularity contest. I was trying to break new ground."

John Paul Newport reviews Adam Schupak's fascinating new book on Deane Beman, written with Beman's cooperation.

Callaway's Dreary Sales News Offset By Rumor Of Joint Acushnet Push As Final Bids Are Due

Miracles do happen! And on a Friday of a dreadful earnings report to boot. Thank God Wall Street is above the Friday news dump shenanigans we see from politicians.

From Reuters:

Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) is teaming up with Callaway Golf Co (ELY.N) for a possible bid for Fortune Brands Inc's (FO.N) golf business, two sources familiar with the matter said.

A deal could be worth up to $1 billion, one of those sources said. Final bids for the auction, which has attracted interest from Asian bidders, are due on May 9, that source added.

Meanwhile, they freed up some cash by selling three Carlsbad buildings to help pay the fees of two Blackstone junior associates working on the purported bid, reports Pat Maio.

The buildings were sold in March but leased back as part of the company's global plan to reduce more than $84 million in expenses since it launched a cost savings program five years ago.
George Fellows, president and chief executive officer of Callaway, and Brad Holiday, chief financial officer, said in an interview that the golf equipment maker still has $35 million to $40 million left to shave in expenses by 2013.

"It doesn't stop there," Fellows said. "You always look to further improve the value of the company."

Thought I'd get through this without a v-word dropping. Oh well.

Now, I don't know a lot about business, but why would a successful private equity firm team with a fledgling golf company want to buy a successful golf company? Please, help me here?

If Deane Beman Was Commissioner (Again) For A Day: Equipment Regulation!**

Thanks to reader Ken for sharing the sequence from today's Morning Drive where Deane Beman and Adam Schupak were plugging their new (and of the many parts I've read, excellent) book. Co-host Tony Erik Kuselias asked:

"Tomorrow you get to be commissioner again and you are complete czar and you can do whatever you want and everybody will agree, what's the ONE thing you'd like to see get done that has not been done right now."

Beman's reply?

"My greatest regret is that I was not able to influence the direction of technology in golf. I think it has had a dramatic effect on how the game is played, on the cost of golf being played today. There's m-billions (Couldn't tell if it was M or B) of dollars that have been put into golf courses to try to accomodate the best players in the world. and it's not just tour courses, it's every course around the country. Just in case Tiger Woods happens to come and play your course and you don't want him to shoot 60.
 
"Everybody has increased the speed of their greens to levels that the average player can't handle. The cost of maintenance of golf courses has risen, therefore the cost of memberships, the cost of green fees have gone up. All to, in my opinion, the detriment of golf."

At this point co-host Gary Williams saw his rally kill light go on and jumped in to protect the best interests of baseball by asking him about appearance fees!

Update on 2011-04-29 19:51 by Geoff

**You can listen to the interview here.

St. Andrews Golf Club To Admit Women

The Guardian's Severin Carrell reports on the big change for St. Andrews. Naturally, despite the story describing the St. Andrews clubhouse, they ran a photo of...you guessed it...the R&A clubhouse, which is definitely not the St. Andrews Golf Club.

The committee at the St Andrews Golf Club, which is run from a handsome Victorian mansion overlooking the greens and fairways of the fabled Old Course, has written to its 2,000 male members recommending that it admit women to the club. The club, founded in 1843, has warned its members that under the new Equality Act, the club could face prosecution for failing to allow women to join. Keeping the ban would be a "retrograde step" as it would mean women would also have to be barred from its clubhouse as guests.

Its past club captains and trustees had decided that allowing all members, regardless of their gender, to have full access to all its bars and facilities would be "the best way, in their opinion, of safeguarding the long-term wellbeing of St Andrews Golf Club", the members were told.

Down boy, down boy. Contain your enthusiam!

John Daly Sheds Light On Tiger's Marriage...Really

Even better the four-time husband offers some brilliant PR advice on The Zone, 790 in Georgia reports the Guyism blog.

Mayhem: Once you put that ring on your finger, you don’t get that opportunity anymore…

John: Well, you should if your wife is good to you and makes loves to you when you want to be made love to….my exes, they didn’t want to have sex anymore. And when that happens, if you’re not going to give it to me, I’m going to get it from somewhere else. Is that adultery? Maybe so. But from what I understand, when you’re married, they’re supposed to give it to you.

Mayhem: Can Tiger Woods go up to a podium or a microphone, and say, here’s the deal, I’m not getting it anymore and quite honestly I’ve had enough?

John: Exactly, that’s what I did

And look how well that's worked out for you!

Mayhem: Could he have gotten away with that with his public persona?

John: I think so

You can listen to the wisdom here.

Early reviews are in and Long John has outdone himself!

Gary D'Amato writes:

John Daly has inserted his foot in his mouth on plenty of occasions throughout his PGA Tour career, but the two-time major champion outdid himself in an interview on 790 The Zone in Atlanta.

Steve Elling writes:

Let's see, this classy little NC-17-rated radio conversation ought to add to Daly's tour-topping fine total, huh?