I have been asked for my personal comment on the Lexi Thompson penalty, and in this instance, feel obliged to do so for two reasons, first because it was, in many respects very debatable, and second because I feel strongly about the issue of armchair referees.
For reference the Rules of Golf define, in part ; “Referee A “referee” is one who is appointed by the Committee to decide questions of fact and apply the Rules. He must act on any breach of a Rule that he observes or is reported to him.” There are slightly different duties for Match Play.
An “armchair referee” is not a person appointed by the Committee and in my opinion, the Rules of Golf do not contemplate that the “reporting” of a breach would emanate from outside the venue of the competition.
Using a technology — designed to provide enhanced entertainment with fantastic slow-motion HD visuals of ball compression at impact, facial expressions of both the thrill of conquest, the heartbreak of misfortune, or the grains of sand as the ball explodes from a bunker — to override that which we consider sacrosanct i.e. the integrity of the golfer, is inappropriate and violates the very fundamental essence of the game.
Let’s try to protect the Spirit of the Game which relies on integrity of the golfer, to not only show consideration for others but to abide by the Rules. Hence, we have no need for referees or umpires – except in major events to help the competitor interpret the rules — we are those people.
We play golf to satisfy a subconscious urge to evaluate ourselves while in the pleasant company of other likeminded people, in an attractive environment. The rules lend order to this wonderful activity but let’s make sure we apply them appropriately knowing what it is that we are trying to protect.
I encourage you to leave your comments below.
Frank
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3rd April 2017 Post: Lexi Thompson Penalty
Dear Frankly Friends,
Yesterday we witnessed yet another rules drama at a major championship.
We would like to hear what you think about the four-stroke penalty that Lexi Thompson was assessed on the 13th tee of the final round, after a TV viewer emailed the LPGA to alert them to a rules infraction they had seen on TV the previous day.
We are very interested in hearing what you have to say about this issue. Please share your thoughts by replying below.
What a beautiful comment by Mr. Thomas. I quote…”We play golf to satisfy a subconscious urge to evaluate ourselves while in the pleasant company of other likeminded people, in an attractive environment.”
It sounds like something that Bobby Jones would have said. Thank you Mr. Thomas for your love and devotion to this great game.
It is ridiculous that the LPGA allows outsiders to help dictate the rules. It is something that the PGA used to allow but stopped allowing it. Which was a great move, the LPGA should do the same.
The fact that professional golf allows a television viewer to play rules official is wrong and every tour and organization in the game should put an end to it.
Watch this week’s golf broadcast and you will many players on all tours more attentive to marking, but wind some footage back for the first half of the year and you’ll see this happen quite a bit. All player do their best to mark in the same location but it happens. What’s more important to this discussion is the call-in/email-in issue. The doubling up of the penalty because of the wrong card was totally inappropriate in that the competitor, her playing partners, the on the ground official, or caddies were not aware at the time, so thus she could not have known of the infraction.
The bottom line here is that Rules Committee and Rules Official in this case had room within the rules, to sanction the 2-stroke penalty without the additional scorecard penalty. This has happened before (note Tiger Woods Masters ball drop).
In the end each tour has the ability to set their own local rules, see the current rulebook from USGA/R&A. The leading tours covered on TV can choose at anytime to ignore call-in/email-in information and make it far clearer. They are making their own beds here in this – they can change anytime they want…using the current rules framework.
Lexi was either lazy or foolish. She saw she was in a depression, but instead of marking and repairing she moved it to the side. I’m guessing that it happens all of the time on all tours, but not everyone in being watched by TV. Obviously it’s a penalty, but not four strokes, and especially not in the middle of the next day’s round, and not by a TV viewer. In response to a prior email, I pretty sure that this was not the USGA that made this call.
I believe Lexi was spinning her ball to get her alignment line pointing at the hole. I hate alignment line spinners. Jim Furyk will fidget with his alignment line while replacing his ball to get the line on the ball pointing on his “line” of his putt. I believe Lexi wishes now she had just gone ahead and tapped it in without spinning the ball to line up the line on the ball to the hole.
No penalty should have been called on this. The 3rd round was complete. The clip should have been discussed with Lexi after the tourney to suggest she be more careful about her marking & replacement in the future.
Thank you Frank for a very insightful and relevant comment. Your thoughts were reflected by a number of PGA Tour pros and Golf channel reporters at recent pre- Masters telecasts. I couldn’t agree with you more.
The policy of allowing television viewers to call in with perceived infractions should never have happened in the first place and has NO business in golf. Starting with the Craig Stadler “towel incident” years ago, this nonsense should have been nipped in the bud. Adherence to the rules of golf belongs with the competitors or in the case of a referee in major competitions. Allowing a situation such as Lexi Thompson had to endure is TOTALLY unacceptable.
This was a joke. Outside viewers have no place in the game of golf. Dustin Johnson and now Lexi Thompson are the reasons I quit the USGA. This just reaffirms my decision to play golf for fun instead of competition.
Rules are rules and it applies to everyone. I don’t know her intentions but if she broke the rules then she should be penalized. You can only assume she broke the rules intentionally and then knowingly signed the incorrect scorecard. I know a lot of people are saying it’s only half a inch. But to a professional golfer that knows how to read the greens like they do, that half a inch is very noticeable.
You don’t know her intentions, but in the next sentence you assume she broke the rules intentionally. She says she didn’t, and I choose to believe her, not you. It’s golf, and the player is the penalty-caller, not some armchair umpire or after-the-fact busybody. The LPGA really messed this one up.
Why would a professional golfer mark a ball for a tap in, unless there was a spikemark or similar he or she wanted to avoid by replacing the ball in a different position? Wake up guys.
Try reading the Rules of Golf. Her intentions have nothing to do with it. Fir dknevreadkn people forget, she’s a PROFESSIONAL! She and her caddie are paid to know the rules. I’ve been to many of the USGA Rules clinics at their HQ. Sometimes I’ve seen a pro or 2. Regardless, you break the rule, you get Penalized. People who are excusing her seem to forget the foundation of golf. From Tiger, to Phil and so many more, the rules don’t say “except for Lexi,” they apply to everyone. As a marker or fellow competitor, I’m not watching someone play every moment. So I’m not going to see every infraction. I’m sure Lexi didn’t mean to break the rules, but she did.
Sorry CP. I disagree. What benefit would Lexi Thompson have gained by “re- positioning” the ball 1/2″ ? I seriously doubt that this was intentional as you opined. Yes, the rules apply to everyone but the adherence to the rules and enforcement of same lies with the competitors NOT some armchair geek who calls a penalty that ocured THE DAY BEFORE !
Dear Frank:
It’s unfortunate what happened to Lexi at the ANA invitation.
However, the Rules are the Rules and the Official had no choice but to enforce them.
Lexi was lucky in a way, because last year she would have been disqualified for signing a card with a lower score than what she made ( penalty included).
Dura lex…, sed Lex.
Notwithstanding the above, I favor that once a round is officially in the books, unless a rules violation is flagrant, the score should stand. In other words, there should be a time limit to consider supposed or real rules violations; a statute of limitation, if you will.
I agree that once the day’s play is concluded and cards signed, the results are final. There never should be outside officiating from other than players, their caddies and official rules officials; and then only until the close of play and the signing of the cards the day of the applicable day.
I seem to remember a similar incident years ago when Bobby Locke won the Open Championship at Hoylake and was subsequently found to have replaced his ball incorrectly on the 18th green. No TV pundits in those days, he was still the Open Champion.
Golf is the ONLY game I know of where fans can effect the official ruling and outcome for an event they aren’t playing in. If no one on the course either playing in or officiating over the game can determine the need for a penalty, then it remains as is.
I’ve seen the video several times and yes, in my opinion, Lexi did not replace her ball in the correct position. That would necessitate a two stroke penalty. To have a viewer call in a possible infraction the NEXT DAY is ludicrous but typical of the U.S.G.A. Once the round has been completed and scorecards signed, the round is OVER. Period. To have a penalty assessed the next day is typical of the new USGA and the main reason I have sent my last dime to that organization. Lexi got screwed but then again what does one expect these days.
Television viewers should have no say in the matter. If the broadcaster, a competitor or rules official thought they noticed something it could be reviewed after the round and the matter settled. If a penalty is due, then assess it. From the video shown it did look like it was replaced differently. But it should be done at the time and never someone watching a recording of a broadcast or the broadcast itself.
franklygolf 
What a beautiful comment by Mr. Thomas. I quote…”We play golf to satisfy a subconscious urge to evaluate ourselves while in the pleasant company of other likeminded people, in an attractive environment.”
It sounds like something that Bobby Jones would have said. Thank you Mr. Thomas for your love and devotion to this great game.
Jerry Payne
Wingate, NC
It is ridiculous that the LPGA allows outsiders to help dictate the rules. It is something that the PGA used to allow but stopped allowing it. Which was a great move, the LPGA should do the same.
The fact that professional golf allows a television viewer to play rules official is wrong and every tour and organization in the game should put an end to it.
Agree that t v viewers should not have a say period. The only ones who do are the player, the player’s playing partners and the rules officials.
Watch this week’s golf broadcast and you will many players on all tours more attentive to marking, but wind some footage back for the first half of the year and you’ll see this happen quite a bit. All player do their best to mark in the same location but it happens. What’s more important to this discussion is the call-in/email-in issue. The doubling up of the penalty because of the wrong card was totally inappropriate in that the competitor, her playing partners, the on the ground official, or caddies were not aware at the time, so thus she could not have known of the infraction.
The bottom line here is that Rules Committee and Rules Official in this case had room within the rules, to sanction the 2-stroke penalty without the additional scorecard penalty. This has happened before (note Tiger Woods Masters ball drop).
In the end each tour has the ability to set their own local rules, see the current rulebook from USGA/R&A. The leading tours covered on TV can choose at anytime to ignore call-in/email-in information and make it far clearer. They are making their own beds here in this – they can change anytime they want…using the current rules framework.
Lexi was either lazy or foolish. She saw she was in a depression, but instead of marking and repairing she moved it to the side. I’m guessing that it happens all of the time on all tours, but not everyone in being watched by TV. Obviously it’s a penalty, but not four strokes, and especially not in the middle of the next day’s round, and not by a TV viewer. In response to a prior email, I pretty sure that this was not the USGA that made this call.
I believe Lexi was spinning her ball to get her alignment line pointing at the hole. I hate alignment line spinners. Jim Furyk will fidget with his alignment line while replacing his ball to get the line on the ball pointing on his “line” of his putt. I believe Lexi wishes now she had just gone ahead and tapped it in without spinning the ball to line up the line on the ball to the hole.
No penalty should have been called on this. The 3rd round was complete. The clip should have been discussed with Lexi after the tourney to suggest she be more careful about her marking & replacement in the future.
Thank you Frank for a very insightful and relevant comment. Your thoughts were reflected by a number of PGA Tour pros and Golf channel reporters at recent pre- Masters telecasts. I couldn’t agree with you more.
The policy of allowing television viewers to call in with perceived infractions should never have happened in the first place and has NO business in golf. Starting with the Craig Stadler “towel incident” years ago, this nonsense should have been nipped in the bud. Adherence to the rules of golf belongs with the competitors or in the case of a referee in major competitions. Allowing a situation such as Lexi Thompson had to endure is TOTALLY unacceptable.
This was a joke. Outside viewers have no place in the game of golf. Dustin Johnson and now Lexi Thompson are the reasons I quit the USGA. This just reaffirms my decision to play golf for fun instead of competition.
USGA did not make this ruling. The PGA, and LPGA have their own rules officials.
Rules are rules and it applies to everyone. I don’t know her intentions but if she broke the rules then she should be penalized. You can only assume she broke the rules intentionally and then knowingly signed the incorrect scorecard. I know a lot of people are saying it’s only half a inch. But to a professional golfer that knows how to read the greens like they do, that half a inch is very noticeable.
You don’t know her intentions, but in the next sentence you assume she broke the rules intentionally. She says she didn’t, and I choose to believe her, not you. It’s golf, and the player is the penalty-caller, not some armchair umpire or after-the-fact busybody. The LPGA really messed this one up.
Well stated!
Why would a professional golfer mark a ball for a tap in, unless there was a spikemark or similar he or she wanted to avoid by replacing the ball in a different position? Wake up guys.
Try reading the Rules of Golf. Her intentions have nothing to do with it. Fir dknevreadkn people forget, she’s a PROFESSIONAL! She and her caddie are paid to know the rules. I’ve been to many of the USGA Rules clinics at their HQ. Sometimes I’ve seen a pro or 2. Regardless, you break the rule, you get Penalized. People who are excusing her seem to forget the foundation of golf. From Tiger, to Phil and so many more, the rules don’t say “except for Lexi,” they apply to everyone. As a marker or fellow competitor, I’m not watching someone play every moment. So I’m not going to see every infraction. I’m sure Lexi didn’t mean to break the rules, but she did.
Sorry CP. I disagree. What benefit would Lexi Thompson have gained by “re- positioning” the ball 1/2″ ? I seriously doubt that this was intentional as you opined. Yes, the rules apply to everyone but the adherence to the rules and enforcement of same lies with the competitors NOT some armchair geek who calls a penalty that ocured THE DAY BEFORE !
Dear Frank:
It’s unfortunate what happened to Lexi at the ANA invitation.
However, the Rules are the Rules and the Official had no choice but to enforce them.
Lexi was lucky in a way, because last year she would have been disqualified for signing a card with a lower score than what she made ( penalty included).
Dura lex…, sed Lex.
Notwithstanding the above, I favor that once a round is officially in the books, unless a rules violation is flagrant, the score should stand. In other words, there should be a time limit to consider supposed or real rules violations; a statute of limitation, if you will.
I agree that once the day’s play is concluded and cards signed, the results are final. There never should be outside officiating from other than players, their caddies and official rules officials; and then only until the close of play and the signing of the cards the day of the applicable day.
The competition had closed. Hat the viewer called about Lexi on Monday after the competition had closed, Lexi would be the champion
I seem to remember a similar incident years ago when Bobby Locke won the Open Championship at Hoylake and was subsequently found to have replaced his ball incorrectly on the 18th green. No TV pundits in those days, he was still the Open Champion.
Golf is the ONLY game I know of where fans can effect the official ruling and outcome for an event they aren’t playing in. If no one on the course either playing in or officiating over the game can determine the need for a penalty, then it remains as is.
I’ve seen the video several times and yes, in my opinion, Lexi did not replace her ball in the correct position. That would necessitate a two stroke penalty. To have a viewer call in a possible infraction the NEXT DAY is ludicrous but typical of the U.S.G.A. Once the round has been completed and scorecards signed, the round is OVER. Period. To have a penalty assessed the next day is typical of the new USGA and the main reason I have sent my last dime to that organization. Lexi got screwed but then again what does one expect these days.
USGA did not make this ruling. The PGA, and LPGA have their own rules officials.
Television viewers should have no say in the matter. If the broadcaster, a competitor or rules official thought they noticed something it could be reviewed after the round and the matter settled. If a penalty is due, then assess it. From the video shown it did look like it was replaced differently. But it should be done at the time and never someone watching a recording of a broadcast or the broadcast itself.