Peyton/Tiger v Phil/Brady (Questions Raised About $20MM Purse)!

While The Match didn’t quite replace the the Masters this spring, it did break the sports quarantine and provide plenty of action for a golf-starved, television audience. Foremost was delighted to have priority seating on his sofa for this event and was, of course, thrilled to see a Rules issue arise during the Match!

The incident that gathered all of the attention was Tom Brady’s request for help in taking relief from a Penalty Area. The question many viewers asked was, “how can a single-digit handicap player not know that rule?”

The answer to this question, as Readers of these pages know well, is that the New Rules of Golf 2019, like the skills of the game itself, require some study and practice, and in Brady’s defense, his time and attention has clearly been occupied elsewhere.

Another incident, however, caught F’s attention…an incident which escaped all television commentary or review.

Peyton faced a twenty-foot birdie putt to win the 4th hole. It certainly appeared to F that Tiger stood behind Peyton momentarily, at least, to confirm Peyton’s read of the putting line, and that words of agreement were exchanged. No problem!

As Tiger walked away from the line, however, Peyton stroked the putt without stepping away and retaking his stance. (At least, this is what F thinks he saw, and the photo above seems to confirm Peyton putting just as Tiger walks away).

If this scenario played out as F thinks it did, then Peyton violated R10.2b(4), which states that when a player begins taking his stance, his “caddie” cannot stand on or close to an extension of his line of play until the stroke is made. (Note” a “partner” has the same status as a “caddie” in terms of what he can or cannot do. R23.5a). The purpose of the rule is to limit advice in aiming, which is an essential skill of the game.

Peyton could have avoided the infraction by stepping away and then retaking his stance. (See, Exception to R10.2b(4) for curing this infraction on a putting green, and note also, that by a USGA Rules clarification, this infraction can now be cured by stepping away from the stance anywhere on the course).

The penalty for this infraction would have been the General Penalty (Loss of Hole in Match Play), which means that the Match would have finished Even, or All-Square, instead of the One-Up Victory by Manning/Woods.

Issue

But would F’s observation of a violation (assuming F was correct in his observation) have changed the outcome?

Ruling

Not necessarily. In Match Play, players have to know the Rules and look after their own interests. If they happen to see a rules violation by an opponent, they may choose to act on their observation by calling a penalty, or they may choose to ignore the violation. R3.2d(4).

F bets this violation didn’t register with Phil…and certainly, not with Brady. Regardless, they either missed the violation, or they chose to ignore. (Not many players F knows would call a penalty in a friendly charity game… except perhaps RM).

So what about Slugger White, the Rules Official who was riding along? Why didn’t he call a penalty?

We now have several rules officials on these pages, and F welcomes their input as to the role of rules official in Match Play. F suspects that their duty is to answer rules questions if asked (i.e. advising Brady how and where to drop from the PA), or making Rulings on the course should disputes arise. Since there was no question or dispute raised after Peyton’s putt, Slugger had no need to intervene.

A Commentary (On a Different But Important Subject)

F hears that a couple of Readers of these pages rallied in Nashville the other night to help defend the retail premises of a fellow Reader. F applauds this effort! It was reported that one of the low-handicap defenders was even armed with a golf club!

F celebrates the right to protest in this country, but finds no excuse for arson, looting, and rioting, in which case he would urge officials to impose the strictest penalties.

The Rules of Golf state that the Committee may establish a Code of Conduct and adopt this Code of Conduct as a Local Rule. The Committee may disqualify players for “serious misconduct” or “acting contrary to the spirit of the game”. R1.2.

Where the hell is the Committee? Why is there no Local Rule!

As usual, all comments or corrections are welcome!

Respectfully submitted,

F