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| Woods Penalized But Still Can Play | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods was three strokes off the lead in the Masters when he completed the second round at Augusta National Golf Club on Friday. But he began his third round five strokes behind the leader, Jason Day, after being assessed a two-stroke penalty on Saturday for an illegal drop on the 15th hole of the second round. | |
| Woods, 37, was summoned to Augusta National hours before his tee time Saturday with his participation uncertain for the third round of a tournament he has won four times. | Woods, 37, was summoned to Augusta National hours before his tee time Saturday with his participation uncertain for the third round of a tournament he has won four times. |
| He could have been disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. But after reviewing the episode with Woods, the rules committee at Augusta National chose to add two strokes to Woods’s score and allow him to play the weekend. The committee invoked Rule 33-7, which allows a penalty of disqualification to be waived or modified in exceptional cases. The rule was instituted in 2011 to address the issue of armchair rules officials who call in from home, as happened Friday, to report violations after players sign their scorecards. | |
| On the hole in question, a 530-yard par 5, Woods laid up. His approach shot clanked off the flagstick and caromed into the water. After taking a one-stroke penalty, Woods dropped his ball in the fairway, a few feet behind his original divot, and hit a wedge shot to within three feet and made the putt for a bogey 6. | |
| After the ruling, his score was changed to an 8. | |
| “I understand and accept the penalty and respect” the committee’s decision, Woods wrote on Twitter. | |
| When choosing to drop near one’s divot, a golfer should play his ball “as nearly as possible” at the spot from which the original ball was last played. After his round, Woods said he purposely dropped the ball two yards from his first divot. | When choosing to drop near one’s divot, a golfer should play his ball “as nearly as possible” at the spot from which the original ball was last played. After his round, Woods said he purposely dropped the ball two yards from his first divot. |
| He said: “Well, I went down to the drop area, that wasn’t going to be a good spot, because obviously it’s into the grain, it’s really grainy there. And it was a little bit wet. So it was muddy and not a good spot to drop. So I went back to where I played it from, but two yards further back, and I took, tried to take two yards off the shot of what I felt I hit.” | He said: “Well, I went down to the drop area, that wasn’t going to be a good spot, because obviously it’s into the grain, it’s really grainy there. And it was a little bit wet. So it was muddy and not a good spot to drop. So I went back to where I played it from, but two yards further back, and I took, tried to take two yards off the shot of what I felt I hit.” |
| The committee’s decision not to disqualify Woods, a 77-time winner on the PGA Tour, reinforced how the rules of golf, once clear, have grown blurry. From the definition of a legal putting stroke to the enforcement of slow play, there has been confusion about the way to interpret and apply the rules. On Friday, Guan Tianlang, a 14-year-old amateur from China, became the only known player in Masters history to be assessed a one-stroke penalty for slow play, which is endemic on the tour. Many players in the field wondered why Guan was singled out when some professionals routinely play with great deliberation and are never penalized with strokes. | The committee’s decision not to disqualify Woods, a 77-time winner on the PGA Tour, reinforced how the rules of golf, once clear, have grown blurry. From the definition of a legal putting stroke to the enforcement of slow play, there has been confusion about the way to interpret and apply the rules. On Friday, Guan Tianlang, a 14-year-old amateur from China, became the only known player in Masters history to be assessed a one-stroke penalty for slow play, which is endemic on the tour. Many players in the field wondered why Guan was singled out when some professionals routinely play with great deliberation and are never penalized with strokes. |
| Woods had played his way into contention for his 15th major championship and his first major title since 2008. The possible violation by Woods was brought to the tournament’s attention by a television viewer. The rules committee reviewed his drop while his round was in progress and had seen nothing wrong. Hearing Woods’s explanation brought the issue of intent into play, and so he was asked to explain his thoughts while preparing for his fifth shot. | |
| After speaking to Woods, the rules committee issued a statement that said: “After he signed his scorecard, and in a television interview subsequent to the round, the player stated that he played further from the point than where he had played his third shot. Such action would constitute playing from the wrong place.” | After speaking to Woods, the rules committee issued a statement that said: “After he signed his scorecard, and in a television interview subsequent to the round, the player stated that he played further from the point than where he had played his third shot. Such action would constitute playing from the wrong place.” |
| The statement added: “The subsequent information provided by the player’s interview after he had completed play warranted further review and discussion with him this morning.” | The statement added: “The subsequent information provided by the player’s interview after he had completed play warranted further review and discussion with him this morning.” |
| Fred Ridley, the chairman of the Augusta National’s competition committees, said Saturday that the key to the club’s decision was its conclusion on Friday that Woods had not violated a rule. The timing was pivotal. After the Friday decision, Ridley said, it would have been “grossly unfair” to disqualify Woods a day later, adding that disqualifying him was never considered on Saturday. | |
| Ridley also said that other governing bodies of golf, including the United States Golf Association, the R & A, the PGA Tour, the P.G.A. of America and the European PGA Tour, had been advised of Augusta National’s decision and that each organization had concurred with the ruling. | |
| Asked if he was concerned with the perception that Woods might have received preferential treatment under the rules as the world’s top-ranked player, Ridley said: “I can’t really control what the perception might or might not be. All I can say is that unequivocally this tournament is about integrity. If this had been John Smith from wherever, he would have gotten the same ruling, because again, it is the right ruling under these circumstances.” | |
| It was the second time this year that Woods had been penalized for an illegal drop. In the second round of his season opener in Abu Dhabi, he missed the cut after taking a two-stroke penalty for wrongly taking a free drop. | It was the second time this year that Woods had been penalized for an illegal drop. In the second round of his season opener in Abu Dhabi, he missed the cut after taking a two-stroke penalty for wrongly taking a free drop. |
| Some people said that Woods should disqualify himself from the Masters. On the Golf Channel, Nick Faldo, a six-time major champion, called on Woods to “do the manly thing” and withdraw. | |
| David Duval, a former world No. 1, wrote on Twitter: “I think he should withdraw. He took a drop to gain an advantage.” | David Duval, a former world No. 1, wrote on Twitter: “I think he should withdraw. He took a drop to gain an advantage.” |
| Others agreed with the decision. Graeme McDowell, the 2010 United States Open champion, wrote: “Take the fact that it was Tiger out of the equation and it is a fair ruling. Since it is him, the debate begins about TV ratings, etc., etc.” | Others agreed with the decision. Graeme McDowell, the 2010 United States Open champion, wrote: “Take the fact that it was Tiger out of the equation and it is a fair ruling. Since it is him, the debate begins about TV ratings, etc., etc.” |
| On Friday, Woods was asked for his thoughts on the penalty assessed to Guan, who ended up making the cut on the number. “Well, rules are rules,” he said. | On Friday, Woods was asked for his thoughts on the penalty assessed to Guan, who ended up making the cut on the number. “Well, rules are rules,” he said. |