In golf, TV viewer has the power to penalise

Golf is televised widely has allowed TV viewers to call in and report an infringement by a player.

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Golfers are unhappy with TV viewers reporting an infringement. (Source: Reuters)

Unlike most other sports which are over in a flash, golf which is televised widely has allowed TV viewers to call in and report an infringement. It has happened before and it happened again at the first women’s Major of the year, the ANA Inspiration. A look at why players are a unhappy lot.

What happened: During Saturday’s third round of the LPGA ANA Inspiration, Lexi Thompson appeared to put a marker at the side of her ball on the 17th green. She then lifted the ball and put it in front of the marker prior to a putt of less than two feet. A TV viewer spotted the discrepancy and e-mailed the officials.

What officials did: The LPGA said Thompson “breached Rule 20-7c (Playing From Wrong Place), and received a two-stroke penalty. She incurred an additional two-stroke penalty under Rule 6-6d for returning an incorrect scorecard in round three.”

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Her five-under-par third-round 67 was changed to a 71. Thompson, who was two shots clear after the 12th hole, dropped from 16-under to 12-under after the penalty. She subsequently lost in a playoff to So Yeon Ryu.

Past Instances: At the 2016 US Open, eventual winner Dustin Johnson was forced to play his last seven holes without knowing the score. Johnson made two practice putts on the fifth green. But as he prepared to address the ball to take his putt, it moved slightly, costing the American a one-shot penalty.

* Johnson also missed out on a US PGA Championship play-off in 2010. Leading by one, he was docked two shots for grounding his club in sand on the 18th hole. He thought it was wasteland but it was deemed to be a bunker.

* Tiger Woods was subject to a similar controversy at the 2013 Masters. After his third shot on the par-5 15th hole found its way into a water hazard, Woods dropped a couple of yards back from that original spot, and not the drop area. A former referee who calls in to inform the officials of a possible infringement. Organisers gave him a two-stroke penalty for taking an illegal drop. He was the beneficiary of a rule change that states that a player can be assessed penalty strokes afterward because all the facts concerning the issue were not known when the scorecard was signed. If not for the rule change he could have been disqualified.

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* At the 2016 US Women’s Open, Anna Nordqvist was assessed a penalty after officials reviewed high-definition video from the telecast and determined she had grounded her club in a fairway bunker. Nordqvist did not learn of the penalty until a hole later, and lost the tournament in a playoff.

Golfers say

Viewers at home should not be officials wearing stripes. Let’s go @Lexi, win this thing anyway.
– Tiger Woods

Who the F#*k is sitting at home zooming in on that stuff??
– Shane Lowry

Whatever number this is that people can call in, it needs to go away. Hoping it doesn’t cost @Lexi!
– Justin Thomas

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It’ll only be certain guys who are on camera. Certain guys are going to be under 24-hour surveillance, while other guys are going to be out there and no one ever sees what’s going on.’’
– Rickie Fowler

If you’re watching a football match, there’s only one match and there are cameras showing it. Here, you can’t show everyone. Someone can do something that would not be on camera and nothing happens. Then someone else, because he’s on TV, people will see it and call it in.’’
– Sergio Garcia