PGA To Pass Rule Against Viewers Reporting Cheating. Tiger Delighted.

What Tiger Woods wants Tiger Woods gets.

european tour oscillation funnyIsn’t it a bit ironic that the USGA are bringing changes to the way viewers can report rules violations in the same year Woods was involved in three incidents?  Here finally might just be the upshot of that raised voices hour Woods spent with officials after he was assessed a two shot penalty for moving his ball while trying to remove loose impediments at the BMW Championship.

The USGA and the R&A will today jointly announce new guidelines on how video can be used to report potential cheating.

The the new "Decision" in the Rules of Golf will say where there is a video showing a moving ball, the ball will not have been deemed to have moved if the movement was not "discernible" to the "naked eye."

PGA chief Tim Finchem is not a fan of viewers calling in penalties and described the situation "difficult and awkward."  Yes watching the players you rely on to make a living being caught red handed cheating on camera must be “difficult and awkward!” 

armchair refIn the interests of balance and in defence of the new ruling it should be said that cameras are NOT on every player on the course, so is it fair to punish players who are filmed, while those committing violations not caught on camera get away with it?  I can personally think of one absolutely comical drop I witnessed a player take on the European Tour to get clearance from a tree, but because it wasn’t seen, was forgotten about.

There’s also the angle that video evidence can be used to exonerate a player when a rules violation is suspected.

And finally, if they are bringing in rules regarding video use, I wonder will they also address the use of cameras on finding lost balls for the high profile groups.  How many times has Radar found the ball for a player on the European Tour thanks to being directed by Ewan Murray and Bruce Critchley in the Sky Sports the commentary box using video replays? Is that fair for the high profile groups while those behind don’t get Sky’s assistance?

Why not address all these video related issues, if they are addressing one?

But what Tiger wants Tiger gets.

 

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