People say he should do the “honorable” thing and withdraw from the Masters.
However, here are the facts:
- Tiger thought he made a legal drop after his ball ricocheted off the flag and into the water. Since he was playing from the position of his original shot, he should have dropped as close as possible to the original spot. Instead he dropped two yards further back.
- During the round, thanks to the wonders of TV, the Masters Rules Committee reviewed on video what Tiger did, and decided he did not break any rules.
- Tiger signs his score card with a score of 71.
- Later, based on additional information from his TV interview, the Rules Committee decided he did violate Rule 26 regarding where he took his drop.
- Tiger is then assessed a 2-stroke penalty.
- One of the strictest rules of golf is if you sign a wrong score card, you are disqualified. Thus, in this case, with the 2-stroke penalty, Tiger shot a 73 and signed the wrong scorecard.
- HOWEVER, two years ago, the PGA Tour amended that rule that “a penalty of disqualification may in exceptional individual cases be waived, modified or imposed if the Committee considers such action warranted.” It was known as the TV rule as they have found viewers calling in with rules infractions on players.
- There is also another rule which says any decision by the Rules Official or Rules Committee is final.
- So we have a situation where the Rules Committee originally ruled he did not violate the rules, but after Tiger signed the scorecard, they later decided he did. Thus, the Rules Committee decided to impose the amended rule and not disqualify Tiger.
So yes, Tiger violated the rules out of ignorance. No excuse. He was assessed a two-shot penalty for that.
The Rules Committee decided that since they had reviewed his drop previously and had initially ruled he did not violate the rules, but only came to that conclusion afterwards, they decided not to disqualify Tiger. If they had been able to come to the correct decision initially of assessing the penalty, they would have told Tiger before he signed the scorecard, so he would have signed a correct scorecard and not even be considered for disqualification.
So now everyone* (ok, about half the people if you look at the message boards across the Internet) is calling Tiger a cheater. Huh? He was ignorant of the details of the rule and he paid the penalty with two strokes. He did not intentionally break the rules because he explained what he did at the press interview which the Rules Committee used to determine he violated the rules.
Some people think he took material advantage of dropping the ball two yards further back. Yes, he took an improper drop so he paid for that with two shots. There’s no way that if he had dropped at the original spot, he would have taken any more than one more shot.
Some people say he was taking material advantage by dropping to the exact yardage he wanted for his next shot. In the rules of golf, you are allowed to drop your ball to any yardage, but to do that, the ball should be dropped at a spot in line behind the flag and the point of entry. Since the ball did not ricochet straight back at him, that means the point of entry would have been more to the side. So if he had wanted to drop for an exact yardage, he should have dropped more from the side than where he was originally.
Some people think he should withdraw as the “honorable” thing for signing an incorrect scorecard because that is what would happen under normal circumstances. Huh? The Rules Committee originally determined he did not break the rules so he was not going to be assessed a penalty and only decided after he signed his scorecard to assess the penalty. Because of that, the Rules Committee decided within the amended rules, Tiger can still play. Tiger is still following the rules and honoring the decision as set forth by the Rules Committee.
Some people say Tiger is getting special treatment. If by special treatment, you mean scrutinized, then yes. And yes, it may be true if this had happened to any other player, the other player might have been DQ’d. In this case, because of all the TV coverage on Tiger, the Rules Committee had video available to review what Tiger did during the round and they made their initial decision. Thus, with all the information they had available and originally assessed he did not violate the rules, The Rules Committee also took responsibility for not calling the penalty on Tiger initially. If that video had not been available and it was only brought to the attention to the Rules Committee after the player had signed the scorecard, then yes, the Rules Committee might have no recourse except to DQ the player.
The following is part of the statement from the Rules Committee on this matter:
The penalty of disqualification was waived by the Committee under Rule 33 as the Committee had previously reviewed the information and made its initial determination prior to the finish of the player’s round.
Some people say the Rules Committee did this as a “favor” to Tiger. Some people say if Tiger were white, he wouldn’t have gotten this advantage. Some people even imply Tiger donating money and/or bringing in money to Augusta National is the reason for the Rules Committee’s decision. It’s amazing how people will make up something to help justify their own way of thinking. All I can say about whether there are ulterior motives for the ruling is that the Augusta National board is one of the most pompous groups of men you’ll ever meet. Established in 1933, Augusta National finally admitted their first black member in 1990. They still have not admitted any women members. For these type of people, their “integrity” is considered paramount. To them, money is not above integrity.
While some people feel Tiger is given a break based on who he is, I think people are judging him unfairly for who he is.
Some people are saying that the amendment to rule 33 was not for this situation. Everyone knows that golfers, even pro golfers, as they should, try to use rules to their advantage. That is, when you get relief from the cart path or some other man-made obstruction, the rules of golf are there to allow you to get relief from the obstruction. However, pro players will take into consideration what kind of lie they have as to whether they will take relief or not. That is not supposed to be the point of the rule. The point of the rule is whether you have an obstruction or not and whether you should get relief, not whether you can have a better or worse lie after your drop. Then when you drop, you are allowed one club length from where the ball is, so you can pick the best condition possible (within one club length). Of course, all players do that. Here, Tiger thought he could be within the rules of golf for the drop, but he was wrong, so he was assessed a penalty. Then the Rules Committee determined it would not be fair to DQ him after they had made an initial assessment he had not violated the rules, so they allow him to continue to play. Tiger is playing within the rules of golf.
Some people say “What would Bobby Jones have done?” I have a different question. “What would Arnold Palmer have done?” If he were in the hunt for winning a tournament but were told after signing his scorecard, he was assessed a two-stroke penalty and thus would have normally been considered disqualified… However, the Rules Committee, within the rules of golf, determined he would be allowed to continue to play, would he have continued to play? I don’t want to speak for him, but I think the answer would have been yes… It would be interesting to see if he makes any comment on this topic. Of course, Piers Morgan says Arnold would have withdrawn. I wonder how Piers knows this.
