Rule read could have averted Tiger’s ‘quad’ at Sawgrass

By Rahul Banerji

Rules, rules, rules. Ever since the start of the season interpretation of the new rules introduced by the Royal and Ancient and the United States Golf Association have cast a long shadow across the professional game, the most recent instance being a quadruple bogey for Tiger Woods on day two of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida that need not have been.

Clearly, Woods was not fully aware of the change that would have entitled him to a drop closer to the hole on the par-3 17^th hole on Friday. His tee shot with a pitching wedge went too deep and rolled into the water off a walkway that leads to the island green.

Woods then went back to the drop zone and hit a second ball into water before a third try saw him finish with a seven,

Falling away

Till that point, Tiger had been 5-under for the tournament and just two shots off the lead. He left 17 some way behind the top groups.

Said the PGA Tour on its website, “According to the new Rules of Golf, though, he (Tiger) could have dropped a club-length from where he entered the hazard, as long as he kept the entry point between himself and the hole. That would have allowed him to putt or chip his ball up the path and potentially save bogey.”

As per the new rule hazards – now called penalty areas – are marked in yellow or red. The red areas are considered lateral drops of two club lengths from where the ball goes off, while for the yellow areas, the drop can be taken between the flagstick and where the ball goes AWOL.

Unnecessary effort

Tiger was entitled to the latter, which means he need not have gone back to the drop zone at all, and instead used the walkway for his club-length in a half-arc around where the ball entered the water as it had crossed the green completely.

Said the New York Post, “With the pin in the back-left position and the ball entering the water over the path, there was an area where Woods could have taken a drop just right of the walkway.”

This emerged in a post-game analysis by the Golf Channel in which its experts David Duvall, Frank Nobilo and Brandel Chamblee recreated the shot and its possible repercussions.

The Post quoted Mark Russell, the PGA Tour’s vice president of rules and competitions, as saying, “Under the new rules, you get a club length on each side of the line that you keep between you and the hole.”

‘No idea, and no marshals’

Added Tiger on Saturday, “I didn’t realise that, where my ball had crossed … I thought it had crossed on the green and just hopped over the back and that was it.

“Unfortunately I just didn’t know that where the ball had crossed. There’s no marshals up there and so it is what it is.”

Asked if he’s ever seen anyone take a drop from that area, Woods said, “The only time I’ve ever seen it was when we had the old steps, the wooden steps going through there and the guys would hit it and it would hop on the wood and then go down there.’

“Unless a marshal told us, if we had a marshal up there to tell us that that’s where it had crossed, then I would have had that option, but I didn’t know.’’

On Saturday, Tiger got some back with a tap-in birdie that quickly went viral after he copied playing partner Kevin Na’s quick grab at the ball. Woods parodied the grab, and the pair walked off the green giggling and a massive crowd in splits of laughter.

Lahiri ousted yet again

Meanwhile, Anirban Lahiri’s disappointing run at the Players continued as he failed to make a second cut to trim the field to the top 70 players and ties.

Wrote V. Krishnaswamy from Sawgrass, “Lahiri found himself in a rather strange situation, where he did make the weekend, but then found himself out of the final round, as he failed to make the ‘secondary cut’ which is applied in case 78 or more golfers make the 36-hole cut.

“Lahiri’s third round 76 saw him reach 1-over 217 and he was tied-74^th and exited after the third round. The cut now leaves 73 players for the final round.

“On Friday, 80 players made the cut at one-under which necessitated and second cut, called ‘MDF’ and that translates to “Made cut/ Did not finish”. Only top 70 and ties after 54 holes play the final round.”

Clearly, not a happy situation for India’s lone PGA Tour card holder.

Also read: Lahiri overcomes the conditions on day one at Players Championship