Not knowing the rules may cost a lot of money…
We had a very important tournament in Victoriaville (Canada Cup) in August. Players from all over the country and a few Americans competed for a total purse of 174 000$.
This is the breakdown of the first five purses:
Winner : 30 000 $. Second : 18 000 $. Third : 13 500 $. Fourth : 10 000 $. Fifth : 8 000 $.
The following rule was in effect: Preferred lies on the closely mown area through the green
The Rule (Preferred lies)
The player must mark and lift the ball. He must place the ball at not more than 1 club-length from the spot where the ball lay not closer to the hole. A player may place his ball only once and it is in play when it has been placed.
What did the player do?
On the third hole in the fourth round, the player is T-2. A spectator sees him place the ball and a few seconds later he moves the ball a few inches. The spectator brings the fact to my attention.
On hole # 6, I talk to the player and I ask him what he did? he tells me that he moved the ball a few inches but he still had the ball marked. I explain to his that contrary to the green, when the ball leaved his hand, it is in play and you are not allowed to touch it again even if it is still marked.
The penalty
The penalty is 2 strokes each time the player is in breach of this rule and he must count the number of times he did it in the past 4 days. He tells me he did it only once. He finished T-8 with a check of 4 045 $
Comment :
Most of the professional golfers know that rule but I am always surprised to see that when you make a living out of a sport, you should know the basic rules of your sport.
Because of the Dustin Johnson’s ruling a few years ago, rules official must talk to the player as soon as possible, assess the penalty if warranted and make the changes on the official scoreboards.