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| After Two-Stroke Penalty, Woods Plays On | After Two-Stroke Penalty, Woods Plays On |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| AUGUSTA, Ga. — After being assessed a two-stroke penalty Saturday for hitting from the wrong spot on the 15th hole a day earlier at the Masters, Tiger Woods was at two-under-par through 15 holes of the third round. He remained three strokes behind the tournament’s leaders, Jason Day and Angel Cabrera. | |
| Woods was three strokes off the lead when he completed the second round at Augusta National Golf Club on Friday, and 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 for the violation and allow him to play the weekend. | Woods was three strokes off the lead when he completed the second round at Augusta National Golf Club on Friday, and 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 for the violation 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 report violations from home after players sign their scorecards. | 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 report violations from home 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 rolled into the water. After taking a one-stroke penalty, Woods dropped his ball in the fairway, a few feet behind his original divot to give himself a more comfortable yardage to the pin for his wedge shot. The ball came to rest within three feet of the hole and he made the putt for a bogey 6. | On the hole in question, a 530-yard par 5, Woods laid up. His approach shot clanked off the flagstick and rolled into the water. After taking a one-stroke penalty, Woods dropped his ball in the fairway, a few feet behind his original divot to give himself a more comfortable yardage to the pin for his wedge shot. The ball came to rest within three feet of the hole and he made the putt for a bogey 6. |
| After the ruling, his score was changed to an 8. | 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. | “I understand and accept the penalty and respect” the committee’s decision, Woods wrote on Twitter. |
| After taking the water penalty, Woods had options on where to play his next shot. Rule 26 states that when choosing to drop near one’s original divot, a golfer should play his ball “as nearly as possible” at the spot from which the first ball was played. After his round, Woods said he purposely dropped the ball two yards from his first divot. | After taking the water penalty, Woods had options on where to play his next shot. Rule 26 states that when choosing to drop near one’s original divot, a golfer should play his ball “as nearly as possible” at the spot from which the first ball was 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.” |
| Woods’s comments raised some questions in the mind of Fred Ridley, the chairman of the Augusta National competition committees. After a viewer sent a text message to a Masters rules official to report a possible violation, Ridley’s group replayed Woods’s drop and cleared him as he was finishing his round of 71. Late Friday, Ridley contacted Woods’s agent, Mark Steinberg, and asked to meet with Woods on Saturday morning. | Woods’s comments raised some questions in the mind of Fred Ridley, the chairman of the Augusta National competition committees. After a viewer sent a text message to a Masters rules official to report a possible violation, Ridley’s group replayed Woods’s drop and cleared him as he was finishing his round of 71. Late Friday, Ridley contacted Woods’s agent, Mark Steinberg, and asked to meet with Woods on Saturday morning. |
| Woods confirmed that he was trying to set up the shot “where he would effectively have a shot that was not going to go quite as far as his first shot did,” Ridley said. | Woods confirmed that he was trying to set up the shot “where he would effectively have a shot that was not going to go quite as far as his first shot did,” Ridley said. |
| He added, “I told Tiger that in light of that information that we felt that he had, in fact, violated Rule 26 under the Rules of Golf and that he was going to have to be penalized.” | He added, “I told Tiger that in light of that information that we felt that he had, in fact, violated Rule 26 under the Rules of Golf and that he was going to have to be penalized.” |
| The committee’s decision not to disqualify Woods, a 14-time major champion, for hitting his ball from the wrong place 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. | The committee’s decision not to disqualify Woods, a 14-time major champion, for hitting his ball from the wrong place 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 who uses a belly putter, became the only known player in Masters history to be assessed a one-stroke penalty for slow play, which is endemic on the PGA 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. | On Friday, Guan Tianlang, a 14-year-old amateur from China who uses a belly putter, became the only known player in Masters history to be assessed a one-stroke penalty for slow play, which is endemic on the PGA 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. |
| Ridley said the key to the club’s decision was its conclusion on Friday that Woods had not committed a rules infraction. Ridley said it would have been “grossly unfair” to disqualify Woods a day later, adding that disqualifying him was never considered on Saturday. | Ridley said the key to the club’s decision was its conclusion on Friday that Woods had not committed a rules infraction. 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. | 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.” | 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. David Duval, a former world No. 1, wrote on Twitter: “I think he should withdraw. He took a drop to gain an advantage.” | Some people said that Woods should disqualify himself from the Masters. 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. |