Some rules violations hit harder than others, while others just make you scratch your head.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all on the golf course, something else comes along to baffle fans, players, and rules officials alike.
The rules of golf can come up and bite you (pun intended: see fire ants below), if you’re not paying attention. Other times, weird things just happen. Further still, sometimes golfers simply don’t know a particular rule.
New rules of golf were rolled out on Jan. 1, 2019, but most of what trips golfers up continues to be of the tried-and-true variety.
As we get set to close out the year that was 2021, here’s a rundown of some of the memorable moments that involved rules violations.
Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio, Beth Ann Nichols, Adam Schupak and Adam Woodard contributed to this article.
A mix-up regarding the 9th and 17th tee box for Sunday’s final round led to some confusion.
NASSAU, Bahamas – It’s been one of those weeks for Jordan Spieth.
With rounds of 71-72-75, he began the final day of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club in last place. His third round ended when his ball moved on the 18th green and he forgot to replace it before hitting his next putt. That resulted in a two-stroke penalty.
Well, in Sunday’s final round, Spieth and defending champion Henrik Stenson were involved in a bizarre penalty situation. Follow along.
When the two reached the par-5 ninth hole, they naturally teed off. Trouble is, they teed off from the tee markers representing the teeing area for the par-3 17th hole. Yes, there is a large teeing area that is home for both the tee boxes for the ninth and 17th holes.
The tee box on the 17th hole had moved overnight to where the tee box was for the ninth hole during the third round. The tee box for the ninth hole in the final round was moved up. Multiple signs were posted alerting the players.
Spieth and Stenson were informed of their violation in the fairway of the ninth hole by chief referee Stephen Cox. The two returned to the tee box and hit from the proper tee. Each was assessed a two-shot penalty.
If Spieth and Stenson had teed off on the 10th hole, they would have been disqualified.
The match between Nelly Korda and Ally Ewing and Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Madelene Sagstrom saw a bit of Rules controversy.
Just as emotions run high at the Solheim Cup, reactions are quick. That was the case on Saturday in an afternoon four-ball match between Americans Nelly Korda and Ally Ewing and Europeans Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Madelene Sagstrom that saw a bit of controversy thanks to an overhanging putt and a quick reaction.
Europe had won the first two holes for a quick advantage that Koerstz Madsen and Sagstrom carried through the front nine. The two sides were tied by the par-5 13th, however, where Korda found herself with an eagle putt.
Korda’s long putt rolled right up to the lip and then hung there, causing the world No. 1 to drop to her knees in disbelief that it didn’t fall into the hole. The Rules of Golf allow a player to wait 10 seconds to determine whether or not the ball will actually fall into the hole. The only problem was that the Europeans didn’t wait that long.
Koerstz-Madsen instead conceded the putt by picking up the ball and tossing it back to Korda. An official then determined that because the ball was not given a reasonable amount of time to drop, as granted by the Rules, it was determined to be a holed putt. As a result, Korda and Ewing won the hole with eagle and went 1 up on their opponents.
The LPGA released a statement explaining the situation, citing Rule 13.3b which states that “if the opponent in match play deliberately lifts or moves the player’s ball overhanging the hole before the waiting time has ended, the player’s ball is treated as holed with the previous stroke, and there is no penalty to the opponent under Rule 11.2b.”
It’s a strange circumstance and a call that required a video replay to determine whether or not the ball was actually overhanging the hole.
According to the LPGA, “The chief referee, match referee, observer and TV observer all deemed that Korda’s third shot on No. 13 was overhanging the hole and was picked up by her opponent before the waiting time had ended. Therefore, her third stroke was treated as holed.”
Nearly 60 years after Mark Russell attended his first golf tournament in Greensboro, he’s calling it quits on a 40-year career.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Nearly 60 years after Mark Russell attended his first golf tournament here, he’s calling it quits on a 40-year career as a PGA Tour rules official and tournament director not far from where he grew up.
“The first time I came to a golf tournament, my father brought me and a buddy of mine here in 1963. Doug Sanders won the tournament,” recalled Russell, who was raised an hour south in Kannapolis.
He followed PGA Tour pros Dave Marr and Al Besselink and so began a longtime love affair with the game. Russell worked in golf course maintenance at Alamance Country Club, mowing greens with Bobby Long, the man credited with saving Greensboro’s golf tournament, while attending Elon College. Afterward graduation, he went to Orlando for a couple of weeks and he’s been there for more than 45 years.
He spent one summer working at Mickey’s theme park, transferred to the golf course division and became Walt Disney World’s director of golf, including the role of chairman of the Walt Disney World Golf Classic.
“I met all the guys who were doing the golf tour,” Russell said. “Clyde Mangum called me up, God rest his soul, and said, ‘Would you be interested in going to work for the PGA Tour in the rules committee? That was 1980. They didn’t have to ask me twice.”
Russell, 69 and vice president of competitions, ends his run as the longest-active tenured employee at the PGA Tour, having led the competitions department since 1999 with Slugger White. Russell returned to 16 or 17 tournaments this season to say farewell, selecting the events, such as Los Angeles, Bay Hill and Hartford, that he administered for four decades.
“When you stop and think about 40 years, I mean, I spent 40 weeks in these places, you know, that’s 40 weeks of your life in Hartford, Connecticut,” he said.
PGA Tour rules official Mark Russell answers questions from CBS Sports analyst David Feherty at the 2013 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Photo by Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
“Big Russ,” as he was affectionately called, was visible, yet wanted to stay invisible. He was conspicuous, and easily recognizable with his syrupy Southern drawl, but tried to be inconspicuous. Sitting in his roofless cart in the shade along the fifth fairway at Sedgefield Golf Club during the third round, Russell was approached by a fan, Gerald Lewis, 60, who is unaware that this is Russell’s swan song. All Lewis knows is that as a son of a Baptist preacher who was taught to do things the right way, he appreciates Russell’s role in the game.
“Every time I see you, I know the integrity of golf is going to be upheld,” Lewis said. “You don’t kiss up to names.”
Russell is touched by these words and agrees to take a picture in his cart with Lewis by his side.
“Hey, we play golf by the rules,” Russell replied.
One week after White, his fellow longtime rules and competitions colleague, hung up his Panama hat, it’s Russell’s turn and here is a condensed version of his exit interview with Golfweek:
Q: How often do people bring up Craig Stadler’s disqualification for placing a towel underneath his knee so he didn’t soil his pants?
Mark Russell: All the time. No matter what the situation is, you can’t put something down and play golf off of it. You can’t build a stance. I’m amazed that Craig didn’t call for a ruling. I saw him last week, talked to him a little bit. He was out there at Truckee, California, watching (son) Kevin play (at the Barracuda Championship). But you can’t do that. So, he had tied for second but he signed for a wrong score on Saturday and got disqualified.
Q: What’s the craziest ruling you’ve been involved in?
MR: It’s hard to classify crazy. At the 2011 Players, we got word that K.J. Choi’s caddie is getting something out of his golf bag and throwing it up to see which way the wind blows. You can’t have an outside device. By the 16th hole, it was panic city. I got to go into scoring (before a playoff with David Toms) and ask him what he did. If he has used something illegally to test the wind, it’s going to be a disqualification.
It turned out his caddie, Andy Prodger, was using a handkerchief. That was OK. I said, “Let’s go play off, sign your scorecard. Let’s get this done.” That was stressful because if we had to disqualify K.J., can you imagine the reaction in the media center? It would’ve rocked the golf world.
Q: How about another unusual one?
MR: During the Bob Hope Desert Classic one year, Gary Hallberg hit a shot on the roof of the clubhouse and it stayed there. The only place he was allowed a drop from the obstruction was in a very rocky area. So, he took his sand wedge with him on top of the roof, chipped down to about 10 feet and made his par. No kidding, he made his par.
But you know, most of the rulings are pretty much you’re either in or you’re out. You did something or you didn’t. Jack Tuthill taught me years ago, you have to ask the incriminating question. Well, did you do anything to cause it to move?
Q: What are your memories from the 1963 GGO and the first time you attended a tournament here in Greensboro?
MR: My dad took my friend and I out and I watched a guy I’d never heard of named Al Besselink. I later learned he married not one, but two Miss Americas. He was dressed immaculately, pushed-back blond hair, I’m telling ya, he blew me away. He acted like he was having a good time and he could play. I got to know him later on when I was running the golf at Disney and I watched him and he was an incredible wedge player. On the range, he hit this 90-yard, little punch wedge and say, it’s like chopping cane, buddy, there’s nothing to it.
Paul Casey takes a drop in front of caddie John McLaren and PGA Tour rules official Mark Russell during the final round of the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Q: I hear you’re playing lots of golf already and you’ve figured out how to place orders on Amazon and eBay?
MR: I’ve always played a lot of golf. I’m a guy that goes out there at five o’clock in the afternoon during summertime and plays until dark. I’ve done that my whole life.
I have a putter that is called the Dandy that a guy named Allan Strand invented for a straight back and through, pendulum stroke and it’s got an onset shaft and I’ve always putted with my hands like that anyway. I ran into him one day, must have been 25 years ago, and he explained the science behind it. I think Grant Waite was using it, Vijay won the Masters with one and Dr. Gil Morgan won 17 Champions Tour events with a Dandy putter. Allan passed away probably eight or nine years ago, but if I see one on eBay, I’ll buy it. There were three for sale last week and I bought all three. I catch a lot of crap for using this putter, but I can assure you it’s a superior product.
Q: As you made your goodbye tour, how have the various tournaments honored you?
MR: It’s really been incredible. At the Colonial, they gave me and Slugger a replica of the Ben Hogan trophy and the players gave me a pair of custom boots. In Hartford, they gave a watercolor painting of Jordan Spieth holing out to win in the playoff. This week the Jaycees gave me a plaque with some beautiful words.
Tiger did some nice things for me. I had to make a ruling down there in The Bahamas (at the Hero World Challenge) where he hit the ball twice. He’s under a bush and he did hit it twice, but he didn’t know that. And it was a deal where they had changed the rule so if you couldn’t see it with your naked eye then you were exonerated. He sent me a picture of that taking place and the statement that I gave to the press about it. And then he wrote on there, “Thanks, Mark. Fabulous ruling, Tiger Woods.” He did that the night before he was in that accident. He really didn’t have to do that. They’ve done all kinds of nice things. People couldn’t have been nicer to me.
Q: Do you have any future plans?
MR: I’m working on a golf sitcom with a comedy writer, Chris Case, in Los Angeles. I’ve always thought that it would be funny to have a sitcom around a public golf course. Think about it, you’ve been around a golf course enough, some of the craziest (stuff) you’ll ever see happens there. Unlimited amount of characters. So, we’re working on that. I’d love to contribute to the game and have a funny sitcom, you know, turn people on to the game, make people laugh.
Q: Give me a sense of your style of humor. What would be your favorite sitcom?
MR: Well, it’d be kind of a toss up between Seinfeld and The Big Bang Theory.
Q: Do you think there will be a shot clock on the PGA Tour in your lifetime?
MR: No chance. The big thing is, like this week, we play 156 players. Why do you want to play fast? You’ve got eight more groups each wave than you’ve got holes to start on. Where are you going to go?
Q: Don’t you want to give out one last slow play penalty (during the final round of the Wyndham Championship) for old time’s sake?
MR: (Chuckles) Not really. Again, we’ve got 156 players, we should never do that in 2021. This Tour should be 120 players maximum. You know, when they came up with (fields of 156), there was no place to play. Now we’ve got the Korn Ferry Tour. We’ve got PGA Tour Champions, tours in Canada and Latin America, too. You know, if you’re good enough, you’re going to be right back here. But I mean, 156 guys, there’s groups waiting 10, 12 minutes at the turn to play. That all goes away if you did that, like at Bay Hill, 120 players and we give them 12-minute intervals and they can’t catch each other. I mean, the slow players have no place to hide.
Most of the slow players play so much better if they go ahead and play. You know, I said, we oughta make them play like that on the range. You can only hit one ball a minute, and then they’d realize. But for the most part, like I say on Thursday and Friday, we breed slow play. There’s no place to go.
Q: How do you summarize your career?
MR: I mean, back when I started we played for $100,000 and nobody was complaining. That’s 18th place now. A huge golf tournament purse was $400,000, first place prize of $72,000. I used to buy one of those big Rand McNally maps every year, you know? Now you just punch an address in your phone. That was science fiction 25 years ago.
But it’s been fantastic to spend my career in golf and with the PGA Tour being such a charitable thing, these golf tournaments have helped out so many people, you know, $3 billion for local charities they’ve raised over the years. Labron Harris came up with the line that the leading money winner on the Tour is charity. It’s a great slogan and it’s true.
I’ve had a good run. I’ve been so blessed and fortunate to see what I’ve seen in golf being in here with these players like that. If I wasn’t good enough to play, the next best thing is to go down into the heat of the battle and be part of serious decisions, you know? In my job, you’ve got to go over and say, ‘What can I do to help you?’ We just want to get it right. We don’t ever want be wrong.
After a penalty for slow play, Maria Fassi said she found it difficult to keep her head in the game in the second half of her round.
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – As Maria Fassi made the turn at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, she was informed that she had incurred a two-stroke penalty for slow play. The infraction occurred on the par-5 18th hole (her ninth) at Atlanta Athletic Club’s Highlands Course, and a rules officials approached her shortly before she teed off on the first.
Fassi, who is playing on a sponsor exemption, was so fired up that she cried down the hole. The former NCAA champ said she found it difficult to keep her head in the game after that.
“One of the players in our group was pretty slow,” said Fassi. “I’m not going to be pointing fingers; I did go over time. I guess that’s the penalty.”
Fassi, 23, tried to contest it after the round, but said that a rules official told her that she took 50 seconds on her second shot, which is 20 more than allowed.
Fassi had 180 yards left for her second shot into the closing par 5 and 167 to cover the water.
“The wind should’ve been helping,” she said, “but it didn’t feel like it was helping. I hit my 6-iron 183, my 7-iron 172. We didn’t know what to hit, because they had to be a perfect 7 for it to get there. The six could’ve been too much, and bunker long wasn’t good.
“It was just the perfect in-between number for me with those circumstances.”
Fassi, who shot 77 and is 3 over for the tournament (currently inside the cut line), was in breach of Rule 5.6 while being timed by a member of the Rules Committee.
“Every other LPGA player will tell you, we know who the slow ones are,” said Fassi, “everybody knows it. The rules officials know it, and I’m not one of them. This time around I guess it was me … I just don’t think that I deserved it.”
Companies are seeing delays the release of new models and pushing back innovations that would otherwise be in pro shops already.
This week, the PGA Championship is making its second trip to The Ocean Course at Kiawah, Pete Dye’s fiendishly challenging track along the South Carolina coast. It meanders over, around and through dunes, but unlike the last time the Wannamaker Trophy was handed out at this windswept venue in 2012, the pros will be carrying extra technology.
“We’re always interested in methods that may help improve the flow of play during our championships,” said Jim Richerson, the president of the PGA of America, last winter. “The use of distance-measuring devices is already common within the game and is now a part of the Rules of Golf. Players and caddies have long used them during practice rounds to gather relevant yardages.”
So now, instead of pacing off distances from sprinkler heads, players and caddies will be able to zap the flag to get a precise yardage to the flag, then refer to the daily hole location sheet to work out the distance to the front and back of the green.
However, it is ironic that as laser rangefinders are primed to get more exposure than ever, a looming semiconductor and microchip shortage is playing havoc with the industry. Companies ranging from start-ups to industry leaders are haggling with suppliers, delaying the release of new models and pushing back innovations that would otherwise be in pro shops already.
Tiger Woods uses a rangefinder from his golf cart during a practice round for The Match: Champions For Charity at Medalist Golf Club on May 23, 2020 in Hobe Sound, Florida. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images for The Match)
Shortage related to pandemic
Like so many other things, the semiconductor and microchip shortage was caused by a series of events related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, companies worldwide were forced to close, workers stayed home and kids started attending school remotely. Businesses in many industries canceled orders and stopped production because no one knew what the global economy might do. That forced chipmakers to either stop or severely reduce their output.
Then, with more people working and studying from home throughout 2020, the sale of computers, webcams, smartphones and other electronics surged. As robust demand continued throughout 2020 for high-tech products, factories ramped up production but could not keep up.
In an interview on “60 Minutes” that aired in May, Intel’s CEO, Patrick Gelsinger, said, “I think we have a couple of years until we catch up to this surging demand across every aspect of the business. COVID showed that the global supply chain of chips is fragile and unable to react quickly to changes in demand.”
The shortage hurt makers of automobiles, consumer electronics and even, yes, golf laser rangefinders.
While there are subtle differences from one laser rangefinder to another, they work similarly. When you press a button, a laser rangefinder pulses light in a wide beam. When that light hits something, it bounces back to the rangefinder. Microprocessors inside the device measure the time it takes for the light to reflect, and then, using that information, determine the distance to the object. Laser rangefinders with sophisticated processors can do the job faster, but all devices rely on microchips to get the job done.
Bushnell Golf, based in Overland Park, Kansas, is the most popular brand of laser rangefinders on the PGA Tour. Derek Schuman, the company’s senior brand manager, told Golfweek, “I created our sourcing team because they have done a pretty good job of finding some workarounds. We have even helped to solicit going above and beyond our vendors to source and find the chips ourselves.”
Schuman also said the shipments sent in cargo ships from Asia are taking significantly longer to pass through ports and customs in Long Beach, California.
“It’s taking twice as long to get the containers off the ships, and then there are further delays in getting the container on the rail,” he said. “It’s a mess.”
Shot Scope has made a name for itself as a maker of shot-tracking systems and GPS watches. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, it entered the laser rangefinder market in 2021. Gavin Dear, the company’s chief commercial officer, said Shot Scope recognized the shortage was coming late last spring. It spurred the company to buy enough parts from different distributors to create a stockpile of 40,000 sets of components for its lasers and watches. Those parts are now sitting two miles from its factory.
“We can draw on that at any point over the next two years,” he said, explaining that the stockpile allows Shot Scope to build what it needs when it needs it, while replenishing the inventory separately.
“So we are in a phenomenal position, however, that is because we recognized the shortage was coming early on, and our leadership team has very good links into the distributors,” Dear said.
Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Precision Pro wanted to release a new laser rangefinder in the first quarter of 2021. The chip shortage and other supply chain issues pushed the timing back to this week. It has also pushed back another product, initially slated for an early-spring release, to September at the earliest.
Rickie Fowler’s caddie Joe Skovron at 2019 Masters. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Alex Everhart, Precision Pro’s director of products, said that Qualcomm, the company that provides some of the chips Precision Pro needs, recently notified Precision Pro that it would not be receiving the parts it had ordered.
“It wasn’t that there was a price change. They didn’t say that it was going to be delayed. We were just flat out told that this chip was no longer going to be available,” Everhard said.
That, in turn, necessitated Precision Pro’s engineers to go back to the design and “basically rebuild all the internals based on the newly-available part,” according to Everhard. He said the item now scheduled for a third-quarter release had been redesigned four times because of situations like this.
“It’s like, ‘These are the parts that are available at this time, so let’s start mapping and creating the internals and just hope that by the time this project is actually completed, those chips are still going to be available to us and we don’t have to restart,'” Everhard explained.
For golfers, laser rangefinders are still readily available from numerous brands. Prices have not spiked, but replacing some models may be slower as people buy the inventory in stores.
All the same, Bushnell’s Schuman has a tip for people who might be looking to wait until the end of the year to grab a good deal on a laser.
“We certainly get a significant spike (in sales) around the holidays,” Schuman said. “So if the supply constraints that we anticipate in Q3 lag into Q4, that becomes a problem.”
PGA Tour pros regret their errors as Harrington signed an incorrect scorecard while Walker missed his tee time.
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Scott Harrington was disqualified from the Valspar Championship after the second round for signing an incorrect scorecard.
The DQ was a mere formality as Harrington, 40, had shot 1-over 72, which combined with his opening-round 4-over 75, would have been several shots too many in order to stick around and play on the week. Still, it continues to be confounding why signing an incorrect scorecard (Rule 6-6d) is still treated as if it’s the early 20th century when in today’s day and age every shot is measured by ShotLink and most likely recorded. It’s almost equally hard to explain why players continue to make scoring mistakes.
Jimmy Walker nearly joined Harrington as a DQ. He was penalized two strokes for being late to his 7:39 am tee time in Group 44 on Friday (Rule 5.3A).
Walker, whose last victory on the PGA Tour is the 2016 PGA Championship, was on the range when a rules official notified him that he had one minute to get to the first tee. He arrived too late.
Had Walker arrived more than five minutes late, he would have been disqualified. Walker had to add two strokes to his score on the par-5 first hole, turning a 5 into a double-bogey 7. He rallied with five birdies in his final 13 holes to sign for 2-under 69 and made the cut on the number at 1-under 141 at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course.
On social media, he posted: “Pro tip….don’t be late for your tee time. Thirty years in tourney golf and that’s a first…”
Yes, Kang’s phone call to her instructor was perfectly legal before the playoff at the Diamond Resort’s Tournament of Champions.
Moments before Danielle Kang did battle against Jessica Korda in a sudden-death playoff at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, she called home. The sight of a player on a cell phone on her way to the tee certainly surprised some of the viewers at home.
Who did she call? And is that even allowed?
“I called my mom, brother, and Butch (Harmon),” said Kang after the playoff, “just three people I called letting them know I’m going to a playoff. They already knew.
“But talked to Butch, and two seconds of talking to Butch hit the best shot of today, which is great. I needed that. I told him I wasn’t feeling comfortable with the swing and he said, ‘You know what you need to do,’ and gave me a swing thought.”
Respect Danielle Kang casually taking a phone call as she walks up to the tee of the first playoff hole pic.twitter.com/49me8tI8H7
On the first playoff hole, Kang struck a 5-iron to 18 feet on the par-3 18th but failed to convert the putt after Korda drained a 25-footer for birdie. It was a dramatic end to an all-American Sunday shootout at the season-opener between Kang and the Korda sisters. (Nelly Korda finished solo third.)
Yes, Kang’s phone call to her instructor was perfectly legal, regardless of what Harmon said, given that the 18-hole round had concluded, according to the meaning of a “round” as defined in Rule 5.1.
“A stroke-play playoff is a new round, so the advice rule doesn’t kick back in until the playoff starts,” said the USGA’s Kathryn Belanger, assistant director, rules education and engagement.
In match play, however, a playoff is considered a continuation of the same round, not a new round.
Belanger notes that players can also change equipment before starting a playoff in a stroke-play event. That is not the case, however, in match play.
Video that wasn’t previously available indicated that Wolff should be penalized one stroke for his ball moving in the rough.
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Matthew Wolff’s Thursday scorecard gained a stroke on Friday.
Wolff, who shot 5-under 67 on Friday, was assessed a one-stroke penalty from Thursday’s opening round of the American Express for violation of Rule 9.4b (Ball Lifted or Moved by You – Penalty for Lifting or Deliberately Touching Your Ball or Causing it to Move).
Here’s what happened: On the first hole at The Stadium Course at PGA West, Wolff drove his ball 336 yards into the left rough. Wolff’s ball moved during his back swing and Rules official Slugger White discussed the situation with Wolff.
It was originally addressed by Wolff with the PGA Tour’s Rules Committee on Thursday, with the decision subsequently reversed on Friday after the Rules Committee gained access to video evidence not available at the time of the ruling that showed Wolff was responsible for the movement of his ball. With the one-stroke penalty, Wolff’s first-round score was bumped up to 72 for a 36-hole aggregate of 5-under 139.
“The incident was filmed on PGA Tour Live and was not brought to our attention until Matthew was well into his second round today,” said PGA Tour Tournament Director Steve Rintoul. “Once we realized there was video evidence, we had to look at it. Matthew was extremely professional and initially thought he was in a disqualification situation. But, fortunately for him, it was not.
“He was acting under the jurisdiction of an official yesterday and understood how the penalty applies when a ball is moved by the player. Matthew said he didn’t feel like he caused the ball to move, but certainly understood that he could have. He was extremely professional about the entire situation.”
Tiger Woods tells Rory McIlroy that it is the first time he’s ever made a putt on the green with the flagstick in his life.
There’s a first time for everything.
Tiger Woods was – to use a popular expression – today years old when he made a putt on the green with the flagstick in the hole.
It’s hard to believe, but remember, until a year ago, doing so was deemed a penalty until the Rules of Golf were revised in an effort to speed up play. Since the rule change, there have been several studies conducted to determine whether it is an advantage to leave the flagstick in or not, and Adam Scott and Bryson DeChambeau were among the early adopters. The spread of COVID-19 and golfers not wanting to touch the flagstick has made leaving the flag in a popular choice among recreational golfers, but most professionals seem to be set in their ways.
For Woods, his moment came during Saturday’s third round and credit to PGA Tour Live for picking up the audio. After tapping in for par at 17 with the flag in, Woods told playing competitor Rory McIlroy, “That’s my first time.”
McIlroy, with a lilt of surprise in his voice, responded, “Ever?”
“Ever,” Woods said as he broke into a big smile.
“Thank you,” Woods added. “You saw me pause there for a little bit.”
In the midst of raking a bunker, caddie Joe LaCava interjected and said, “If he was 3 under, no chance, Rory.”
Laughter ensued.
After the round, our David Dusek caught up with LaCava, who claims Woods may have holed a putt on the green with the flagstick in before, and just doesn’t remember it. But one thing is for sure: This is the first time Woods ate lunch on a picnic table outside of the media tent with his fellow competitor post-round. As Bob Dylan once sang, “The times, they are a-changin.”
