Rule 26-1(a) | Wei Under Par

May

1

2013

USGA and R&A: No, you may not claim ignorance if you sign an incorrect scorecard

By Stephanie Wei under Rules

The Drop

The USGA and R&A issued a statement on Wednesday explaining the ruling that saved Tiger Woods from disqualification at the Masters for taking an illegal drop. Basically, the governing bodies clarified that it will not serve as a precedent for waiving the penalty (disqualification) for signing an incorrect scorecard (see below under “Scope of Committee Discretion to Waive a Penalty of Disqualification for Failure to Return Correct Score”).

Pros (and amateur competitors) must still make sure they return an accurate score, so you can’t pull a “Tiger” — who was extended a lifeline because Fred Ridley, Masters tournament competition committee chairman, made an “erroneous” application of the rule. I know, darn it!

Here is the statement in full:

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#2013 Masters, #Augusta National Golf Club, #Improper drop, #R&A, #Rule 26-1(a), #Rule 33-7, #Rules controversy, #Tiger Woods, #USGA

May

1

2013

The inside story on the Tiger Woods ruling (Dropgate) at the Masters

By Stephanie Wei under Rules

The most famous improper drop in history

Fantastic reporting by SI’s Michael Bamberger on the series of events that led to the Tiger Woods rules snafu on the 15th hole in the second round of the Masters last month. Turns out the “television viewer” that called Fred Ridley, the tournament’s competition committee chairman — and ultimately saved Woods’ from disqualification for taking an improper drop — was Champions Tour player David Eger, according to Bamberger:

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#2013 Masters, #Augusta National Golf Club, #David Eger, #Dropgate, #Fred Ridley, #Improper drop, #Mark Russell, #Mickey Bradley, #R&A, #Rule 26-1(a), #Rules controversy, #Tiger Woods, #USGA

Apr

13

2013

Tiger Woods’ drop on the 15th might be grounds for disqualification (*Update)

By Stephanie Wei under Rules

Tiger Woods reacts after his approach from the fairway on the 15th hits the pin and rolls back into the water hazard. Ouch.

*Update: Read the *update at the bottom of the post.

During the second round of The Masters, Tiger Woods, who is in contention heading into the weekend at Augusta National, caught an unfortunate break on the 15th hole when his approach into the green hit the pin, causing it to roll back into the water hazard. Brutal.

Turns out Woods’ troubles didn’t end there: He may have taken a bad drop. Masters officials are expected to review the incident Saturday morning, and IF it is ruled that Woods did indeed take a drop from the wrong spot, then he could be disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

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#2013 Masters, #Augusta National Golf Club, #Improper drops, #Rule 26-1(a), #Rules of Golf, #Tiger Woods