Thoughts on Couch Potatoes Calling in Penalties

[JaNelson38]

The LPGA could have handled this a variety of ways. They could have ignored it. They could have looked at it and determined there was a lack of evidence to penalize Lexi, especially since it was from a previous round. Or they could have handled it like they did.

 

I will say that since the LPGA volunteered that they looked at this because of an email, they should make the email public and out the name and email address if the sender. If some random persons view is gonna affect a championship score, it deserves to be made public. Perhaps that will stop this rash of people thinking they are officials by knowing of they call in a supposed rules violation, they will be made public.

 

I feel sick for Lexi. And the LPGA should be ashamed of how they handled this.

[aarbro]

 

2) The double penalty, why should you be further penalised for an incorrect scorecard for a penalty you incur a day later? The rule of incorrect scorecard is meant to protect the integrity of the game but there's no way that she could have signed a correct scorecard in this instance, so the additional penalty is unfair.

 

Exactly. Apply the 2 stroke penalty and leave it at that. I also disagree at telling the player mid round, wait until it is over. It obviously impacts their performance from there on.

 

Out of curiosity, how would you go about emailing this in? Is there a monitored inbox - [email protected]?

[aarbro]

I will say that since the LPGA volunteered that they looked at this because of an email, they should make the email public and out the name and email address if the sender. If some random persons view is gonna affect a championship score, it deserves to be made public. Perhaps that will stop this rash of people thinking they are officials by knowing of they call in a supposed rules violation, they will be made public.

 

If you're going to accuse someone of something, have the guts to do it publicly.

[DavePelz4]

I wonder if the caller's last name was Bartman.

[AmazinBlue]

1. spectators can't call infractions in any other sport and a fan has never called a penalty on a player in golf where the fan is actually at the event. No one would even dare. How can golf let this crap go on. Their integrity is shrinking with every instance of this insanity. The LPGA will suffer for this. They are trying to gain credibility and a bigger audience among casual golf fans, this won't help. I love watching the ANA, it's a great event, but the ruling body in this event screwed up. How can a group of supposedly level-headed people come to the decision they did? What would have happened if they just admitted, they didn't catch it and let it go? No harm no foul.

[Warrick]

Watched the video how in the hell could they tell she moved it forward? Video seems inconclusive at best. Is is going to take a player suing the rules officials for damages for this s*** to stop?

 

It was crap, but that ball was clearly replaced in a different position.

 

15 months ago they would have given her a cart ride off the golf course after the DQ. They are moving in the right direction, but unfortunately it takes stuff like this to make things change.

[sbark]

Did she gain a advantage.................with the high def. resolution they should be able to determine if she avoided a spike mark

 

did she gain a advantage? should be the 1st application of commonsense.

[Boogs2]

Whoever calls in a penalty has their name and phone number released.

 

Let anarchy begin *evil clown smile

[chris975d]

Watched the video how in the hell could they tell she moved it forward? Video seems inconclusive at best. Is is going to take a player suing the rules officials for damages for this s*** to stop?

 

It was crap, but that ball was clearly replaced in a different position.

 

15 months ago they would have given her a cart ride off the golf course after the DQ. They are moving in the right direction, but unfortunately it takes stuff like this to make things change.

 

But...if it had happened today, and not caught until later tonight or tomorrow morning, nothing at all would have been done because the tournament has concluded. Why is application of the penalty inconsistent like that?

[AmazinBlue]

If they caught during the round yesterday and penalized her yesterday, that would have been more tolerable, still stupid, but more tolerable. To do it the next day, in the middle of the round is ridiculous. Golf has to catch up with the technology and put a limit on what can be deemed a penalty and in what time frame. The next round, next day, next week is unacceptable. If you don't catch it by the next hole, it's too late.

[tbowles411]

If they caught during the round yesterday and penalized her yesterday, that would have been more tolerable, still stupid, but more tolerable. To do it the next day, in the middle of the round is ridiculous. Golf has to catch up with the technology and put a limit on what can be deemed a penalty and in what time frame. The next round, next day, next week is unacceptable. If you don't catch it by the next hole, it's too late.

Agreed. This is a complete disaster. But I would even go with before midnight. But this whole next day thing is a show.

[LeftDaddy]

Agree on all counts. Golf is killing itself with stupidity like this. First of all, rules violations shouldn't be allowed to be called or emailed in. Second, the incorrect scorecard penalty after the fact is insane and should also not be applied in this case. And 3rd, there should be a time limit. Before she tees off for the next round, "speak now or forever hold your peace " should be applied. So you found a minor issue from yesterday while I was playing today? Too bad...too late. That round is in the books. The NBA doesn't retroactively change the outcome of game 6 during game 7. Nor does any other sport of any sort. It needs to be changed immediately.

[Matt J]

Common sense becoming increasingly less common. Another negative headline for golf.

[stevemac]

The LPGA could have handled this a variety of ways. They could have ignored it. They could have looked at it and determined there was a lack of evidence to penalize Lexi, especially since it was from a previous round. Or they could have handled it like they did.

 

I will say that since the LPGA volunteered that they looked at this because of an email, they should make the email public and out the name and email address if the sender. If some random persons view is gonna affect a championship score, it deserves to be made public. Perhaps that will stop this rash of people thinking they are officials by knowing of they call in a supposed rules violation, they will be made public.

 

I feel sick for Lexi. And the LPGA should be ashamed of how they handled this.

 

 

 

 

Absolutely unbelievable. Much to my chagrin but sitting in front of my TV should not make me a participant and no way should I be allowed to effect competition. This rules official did what? What did he prove? Lets have their name and email, or better yet put a camera on him and make sure he doesnt screw up and still have a day to bring it to his attention.

No other sport allows this to happen-none. Golf is a great sport with honesty and tradition, but this is someone that feels they need to show how smart they are. TOTAL BS-AND THEN IT IS A '4' STOKE PENALTY TOO

[CCTxGolf]

Hard to watch. Like others have said, she handled it with a great amount of class. I can't believe they not only assessed this penalty well after the fact but also showed the delivery of the news. How terrible. Maybe it is going to take a lawsuit of some sort. I also feel a little bad for the lady delivering the news. She really did look like she did not want to have to tell her. The LPGA is not doing themselves any favors from a viewers perspective by letting this happen.

[melo]

1. Call ins are ridiculous. There is no reason that an outside party (especially an anonymous one) should have any influence on the sport.

 

2. Calls in are inequitable and biased. Only golfers who are shown on camera, and only the shots that are shown can be viewed and reviewed by fans at home.

 

3. Regardless of the actually act, it is incomprehensible to me that you could assess her the penalty for an incorrect score card. Clearly she can't sign a different score if no penalty was assessed during the round. How this continues to happen is beyond me.

 

4. There has to be a time limit for when shots can be reviewed, and all penalties MUST be assessed before the signing of the scorecard. If not then, then by the beginning of the next round and they get rid of the penalty strokes for a wrong scorecard.

 

All of this is horses$%@

[pickerjohn]

Apparently it wasn't a couch potato or armchair fan, it was an experienced rules official on a major tour who called in. Probably the only person who cares enough about the rules to do it.

 

But I think there are issues going forward about:

 

1) The time that passed before the penalty was given.

2) The double penalty, why should you be further penalised for an incorrect scorecard for a penalty you incur a day later? The rule of incorrect scorecard is meant to protect the integrity of the game but there's no way that she could have signed a correct scorecard in this instance, so the additional penalty is unfair.

 

I wonder if this rules official makes a habit of reviewing all of yesterdays

rounds or why did he wait till the next day. I think fellow players protecting the field

is fair enough, Nobody outside the field and rules officials present at the event

should be allowed to affect the outcome. I respect Rules Officals for

their thankless jobs but I have seen a few who think that if they don't find something

to call that they are not doing their jobs.

[bearboy80]

what's the call in number and email address to LPGA?

I don't think emailers do not get penalized for false report so let's send billions emails per day to see if they review every single inquiry.

[Ross Rogers]

What is the statute of limitation on penalizing a player for a rules infraction? What's the difference between penalizing someone over half way into their next round or after the tournament has ended. This has got to stop. It's not fair to call a penalty on a player for something that happened the day before and the player has already started their next round before they are told of the penalty. Please LPGA, USGA, PGA etc. don't let this happen again!

[Vindog]

What is the statute of limitation on penalizing a player for a rules infraction? What's the difference between penalizing someone over half way into their next round or after the tournament has ended. This has got to stop. It's not fair to call a penalty on a player for something that happened the day before and the player has already started their next round before they are told of the penalty. Please LPGA, USGA, PGA etc. don't let this happen again!

 

Penalties can be assessed until competition has closed.

[mallrat]

Here is my bigger issue with it. Until every shot of every player is either taped and reviewed or televised it is not fair. Meaning you are being penalized or not on equal footing for being in a televised group/pairing. Each broadcast has what 3 feature groups and then occasional shots from those playing well? That leaves 40 groups or roughly 120 out of 150 who are not under the same scrutiny. On a weekend that maybe shrinks to 50 out of 70 who have no tv coverage.

 

What happens to the guys/gals who make huge runs up the leaderboard, shouldn't they be under the same scrutiny?

[Vindog]

For those who want penalties to only apply if found on that day: Consider that the winner is the player who scores the lowest aggregate score for ALL ROUNDS. Not applying a penalty for Saturday's round affects the tournament as a whole, not just for Saturday.

 

It seems harsh but it follows logic.

[Ross Rogers]

For those who want penalties to only apply if found on that day: Consider that the winner is the player who scores the lowest aggregate score for ALL ROUNDS. Not applying a penalty for Saturday's round affects the tournament as a whole, not just for Saturday.

 

It seems harsh but it follows logic.

[Ross Rogers]

For those who want penalties to only apply if found on that day: Consider that the winner is the player who scores the lowest aggregate score for ALL ROUNDS. Not applying a penalty for Saturday's round affects the tournament as a whole, not just for Saturday.

 

It seems harsh but it follows logic.

 

Yes this is true but, it is also unfair to the player to penalize someone 4 stokes 3/4 of the way through their next round. If they were told earlier they might have changed their playing strategy. No other sport allows this. This is like a double penalty.

[Cwebb]

For those who want penalties to only apply if found on that day: Consider that the winner is the player who scores the lowest aggregate score for ALL ROUNDS. Not applying a penalty for Saturday's round affects the tournament as a whole, not just for Saturday.

 

It seems harsh but it follows logic.

 

but we know they wouldn't do it, if it was a monday call in....or even Sunday night. Just doesn't make sense

[rawdog]

For those who want penalties to only apply if found on that day: Consider that the winner is the player who scores the lowest aggregate score for ALL ROUNDS. Not applying a penalty for Saturday's round affects the tournament as a whole, not just for Saturday.

 

It seems harsh but it follows logic.

 

Yes this is true but, it is also unfair to the player to penalize someone 4 stokes 3/4 of the way through their next round. If they were told earlier they might have changed their playing strategy. No other sport allows this. This is like a double penalty.

 

"Changes also were made for reviewing 3-pointers. For the first 36 minutes of play, officials must wait until the next media timeout to review whether a shot was a 3-point field goal. In the last four minutes of the game and the entire overtime, officials will go to the monitor immediately to determine whether a field goal was a 3."

 

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9419050/expansion-replay-review-rule-changes-ncaa-hoops

 

Also, when should they tell the player? After the competition? Would that not also impact decisions made by the other competitors... the ones who didn't breach the rules?

[KevCarter]

For those who want penalties to only apply if found on that day: Consider that the winner is the player who scores the lowest aggregate score for ALL ROUNDS. Not applying a penalty for Saturday's round affects the tournament as a whole, not just for Saturday.

 

It seems harsh but it follows logic.

 

but we know they wouldn't do it, if it was a monday call in....or even Sunday night. Just doesn't make sense

 

They couldn't do anything if it were called in Sunday night or Monday morning. The competition is closed. Rule 34.

[JohSte]

What would the likes of Tom Morris, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones or Arnold Palmer think about this?

Two words the first one is bull you don't have to guess the second.

[thejuice]

For those who want penalties to only apply if found on that day: Consider that the winner is the player who scores the lowest aggregate score for ALL ROUNDS. Not applying a penalty for Saturday's round affects the tournament as a whole, not just for Saturday.

 

It seems harsh but it follows logic.

 

I hear your point but I would argue that in boxing, they wouldn't go back to review previous rounds for penalty points to take away when they have to go to the scorecards for a decision. If that were the case then a lot of boxing matches would have had very different results. Same with all sports with multiple periods, quarters, or innings where something that has already happened (and the game has moved on) doesn't allow for a makeup call that would affect the outcome of the event. This coming from a football and lacrosse official.

[andrieddle]

The only review that should happen after the fact is if someone flagrantly cheated.

 

That Anna Nordqvist penalty where she brushed two grains of sand that only the high definition TV camera could see was BS too.

 

I agree, I tink every flight should have a rule official that watch the players closely...stand as close as they can without disturbing the players and observe.....make the call on the spot and only resort to video if there's disagreement between the official and the player.

 

No more after the fact ruling