Lee Janzen penalty in U.S. Open

[Gary Hill]

Interesting penalty situation in the U.S. Open.

Janzen penalty info

This is first time I have ever seen the Committee waive the penalty of disqualification.

The U.S. Open has an official with every group unlike the PGA Tour which has a few roving officials on the course.

[HÄnd|cÄp]

They shouldn't make exceptions, he should have been DQ'd, and then he should have been smacked with a wet towel in the locker room for making such an erronous violation of that widely known rule.

[Kilroy]

Gotta agree with you there. Some couch potato calls up and points out an violation and they throw the book at him.

How can this be? :

[Gary Hill]

The exception was made because the official with the group saw the infraction and did not inform Janzen that he had incurred a penalty.

It is the duty of the official to inform Janzen of the infraction, so the Committee (the people in charge of the tournament, in this case, the U.S.G.A.) basically admitted it was their fault that Janzen signed an incorrect scorecard.

Janzen cannot be absolved from the penalty for mopping up the water, but the U.S.G.A. felt that they were to blame for the penalty not being included in his total. In these circumstances, the U.S.G.A. felt justified in waiving the disqualification.

[Kilroy]

I had no idea that they could make exceptions like that. Rulings are usually pretty final once they figure out what rule to aply to a situation.

Why would an official need to inform him? Is it not the responsibility of the player to know the rules?

If I mark may ball incorrectly, and then fail to add the penalty for playing from a wrong place, and then sign my card, would I not be DQ'd upon discovery of the error? Would I have to be informed by an official in this case?

Maybe they just did not want to DQ a past two time champion if they could avoid it. Perhaps the official should have been DQ'd

[Gary Hill]

Originally posted by Dan Kilbank
I had no idea that they could make exceptions like that.

A penalty of disqualification may in exceptional individual cases be waived, modified or imposed if the Committee considers such action warranted. Any penalty less than disqualification shall not be waived or modified - Rule 33-7.

For example, the penalty for failure to start on time is disqualification. However, the Committee would be justified in waiving the disqualification penalty if the player was present at the scene of an accident and was required to give a police statement.
Simply getting stuck in traffic on the way to the course would not warrant waiving the disqualification penalty.

Originally posted by Dan Kilbank
Rulings are usually pretty final once they figure out what rule to aply to a situation.

If there is a referee on the course, his decision is final.
In the absence of a referee, the Committee's decision is final.

In this case, once the committee applied the penalty for mopping up the water and decided to waive the disqualification penalty, that ruling was final.

Originally posted by Dan Kilbank
Why would an official need to inform him?

An official should intervene if he sees a player about to break a Rule. An official should also inform the player of a penalty he has seen the player commit. It was the failure of the official to carry out these duties that was the primary factor in waiving the penalty of disqualification.

Originally posted by Dan Kilbank
Is it not the responsibility of the player to know the rules?

The player is responsible for knowing the Rules and the conditions under which the competition is to be played - Rule 6-1.

Yes. Janzen incurred the penalty for mopping up the water during suspension of play even though he was obviously unaware that this was a violation of the Rules.

Originally posted by Dan Kilbank
If I mark may ball incorrectly, and then fail to add the penalty for playing from a wrong place, and then sign my card, would I not be DQ'd upon discovery of the error?

Yes. You would be disqualified for a breach of Rule 6-6d for returning a score for any hole lower than actually taken.

Originally posted by Dan Kilbank
Would I have to be informed by an official in this case?

There seems to be some confusion here about an official on the course actually seeing you commit a Rules violation and the Committee becoming aware of a Rules violation sometime after the fact.

In the former case, the official should intervene, if possible, before you play from the wrong place. Failing that, the official should inform you of the violation and make sure your marker records the penalty. In the later case, the Committee would gather all information concerning the matter and make an ruling. You would be informed of the decision taken by the Committee.

Originally posted by Dan Kilbank
Maybe they just did not want to DQ a past two time champion if they could avoid it.

I assume you are joking that the decision taken by the U.S.G.A. would be influenced by the reputation of the player.

Originally posted by Dan Kilbank
Perhaps the official should have been DQ'd

I have about the same chance of winning the U.S. Open as the official in question does of participating in another U.S. Open.

[Kilroy]

Originally posted by Gary Hill

I assume you are joking that the decision taken by the U.S.G.A. would be influenced by the reputation of the player.

Yes, of course. :p

I have about the same chance of winning the U.S. Open as the official in question does of participating in another U.S. Open.

hehehe

[Gary Hill]

There is a HUGE controversy brewing among officials over the waiving of the disqualification.

The jist of which is: If I (as an official) make a mistake or an incorrect ruling, does that absolve the player from disqualification?