Quote Originally Posted by spackler
Check it out, the Star-Ledger is reporting that the person who stepped on Tiger's ball might have been Steve Williams. IF that were the case, it should have been an extra stroke penalty, and thus Tiger signed an incorrect scorecard and should disqualify himself. The cited video, though, is not clear at all. It's through the trees and where they say he might have stepped on it, a little stutter step, doesn't look like where the ball was found. But it adds something to stew over....

http://www.nj.com/enter/index.ssf?/s...950.xml&coll=1
I believe this is yet another example of someone in the media who doesn't do their homework on the Rules of Golf:

Rule 12-1 Searching for and Identifying Ball

In searching for his ball anywhere on the course, the player may touch or bend long grass, rushes, bushes, whins, heather or the like, but only to the extent necessary to find and identify it, provided that this does not improve the lie of the ball, the area of his intended stance or swing or his line of play.

A player is not necessarily entitled to see his ball when making a stroke.

In a hazard, if a ball is believed to be covered by loose impediments or sand, the player may remove by probing or raking with a club or otherwise, as many loose impediments or as much sand as will enable him to see a part of the ball. If an excess is removed, there is no penalty and the ball must be re-covered so that only a part of the ball is visible. If the ball is moved during the removal, there is no penalty; the ball must be replaced and, if necessary, re-covered.

IOW, you are allowed to touch your ball when searching for it. You can even move your ball when searching for it, provided you replace it back in its original position. I don't see how anyone could argue that he improved the lie of the ball by stepping on it. In order to argue that the ball was moved and not replaced, you would have to know its original position and show that it is now in a different place. Nobody knows that.