Thompson loses tournament after viewer spots rules violation

[Kilroy]

Can you imagine a fan, say a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, calling or e-mailing in to the powers that be because a hooking penalty was missed on Auston Matthews and the National Hockey League, saying, “Yeah, you're right,” and adjusting the score?

More...

[tonyj5]

Lexi Thompson was informed that she received a four stroke penalty as she walked off the 12th hole on Sunday at the ANA Inspiration.

An email was received by LPGA officials from a viewer about a possible rules infraction during the third round.

http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2017/...e-penalty.html

[Gobble_It]

It must be a robot calling in to report the infraction. What kind of human would zoom in and watch the ball being misplaced, unless he/she is looking for something else from Lexi Thompson?.

I guess rules are rules but this is a complete farce and must be changed.

[cleek]

2 stroke penalty for misplacing ball ok , but 2 strokes for recording an invalid score the day after should not have been assessed. She had no inclination she was marking down an invalid score until the following day and by then it was too late. I feel for her , she was robbed.

[scrollerpete]

I read quit a few tweets fro golfer and most of them are ashamed of this kind of ruling, even Tiger send a tweet on this,
This is a stupid rule, there is referee with every group, if they do not see infraction. This is final.
We should start calling the NHL front office about all the calls that are missed, specially from Sidney Crosby slashing and stick between the legs, and no call.

[goochy]

There is a rules official with every group NOT a referee. Players are responsible for making sure they follow the rules themselves...They can ask the rules official for clarity, advice or a ruling but they (the players) are ultimately responsible for ensuring they follow the rules.
This is not the NHL,NBA,EPL or any other sport that is super fast moving and lasts 90mins or less. In those sports officials have a split second to make a call. Not so in golf, and quite frankly if we are holding up those sports as paragons of virtue and role models of officiating we are doomed.
Lexi has my sympathy but she broke the rules. What would you say to her competitors once the tournament officials were aware of the infraction but did nothing.
I do have some misgivings that leaders get more TV coverage and are therefore more likely to be scrutinized but that may just be the price to pay.
Where I do disagree is the penalty for an incorrect scorecard...She could not have known and there has been talk before of changing that rule. However, I have no problem with the two stroke penalty for playing from the wrong spot. It was unfortunate but eveyone implying she did nothing wrong is mistaken. She played from the wrong spot...She is responsible for that. 😔

[Marcos]

Brutal!!!! All i can say.

[sliceleft]

Every other sport operates in a virtual reality where the decision of the officials IS the reality, regardless of what actually happened. In that virtual reality, it is OK -- expected, even -- that the players will break rules because if the officials do not notice, the infraction DID NOT HAPPEN in the "reality" of the game, which moves on, one play at a time. In those sports, it does not matter if one spectator, or a stadium full of spectators, sees and calls out the rule-breaking; there is no mechanism for this actual reality to enter the virtual reality of the game.
Only golf relies on the players to abide by the rules without supervision, and bases scores on actual reality, to the extent the scorers know it at any point in time. Yes, it sucks when Tiger Woods, or Dustin Johnson or Lexi Thompson are levied penalties based on video review, but the only "fix" is a virtual reality environment where it's OK to cheat -- to move your ball a bit to avoid a spike mark, to use a foot wedge -- and hope no official calls you on it.

[Gobble_It]

There is a rules official with every group NOT a referee. Players are responsible for making sure they follow the rules themselves...They can ask the rules official for clarity, advice or a ruling but they (the players) are ultimately responsible for ensuring they follow the rules.
This is not the NHL,NBA,EPL or any other sport that is super fast moving and lasts 90mins or less. In those sports officials have a split second to make a call. Not so in golf, and quite frankly if we are holding up those sports as paragons of virtue and role models of officiating we are doomed.
Lexi has my sympathy but she broke the rules. What would you say to her competitors once the tournament officials were aware of the infraction but did nothing.
I do have some misgivings that leaders get more TV coverage and are therefore more likely to be scrutinized but that may just be the price to pay.
Where I do disagree is the penalty for an incorrect scorecard...She could not have known and there has been talk before of changing that rule. However, I have no problem with the two stroke penalty for playing from the wrong spot. It was unfortunate but eveyone implying she did nothing wrong is mistaken. She played from the wrong spot...She is responsible for that. 😔

She would have been disqualified for signing incorrect scorecard if they were still using 2016 rules!. At least she got a chance to pull out the win.

[Marcos]

The fact that the media is following only the leaders most of the time does make them an easy target. Is there any other sport where fans can e-mail or call in a violation of rules at any time? Probably not. Funny we dont hear of the other golfers in the field being assessed penalty's.

[larry]

2 stroke penalty for misplacing ball ok , but 2 strokes for recording an invalid score the day after should not have been assessed. She had no inclination she was marking down an invalid score until the following day and by then it was too late. I feel for her , she was robbed.

Completely agree. When she signed her score card it was correct. The penalty was not applied until the next day. Once again the people running golf look like idiots.

[BC MIST]

There is a rules official with every group NOT a referee. Players are responsible for making sure they follow the rules themselves...They can ask the rules official for clarity, advice or a ruling but they (the players) are ultimately responsible for ensuring they follow the rules.
This is not the NHL,NBA,EPL or any other sport that is super fast moving and lasts 90mins or less. In those sports officials have a split second to make a call. Not so in golf, and quite frankly if we are holding up those sports as paragons of virtue and role models of officiating we are doomed.
Lexi has my sympathy but she broke the rules. What would you say to her competitors once the tournament officials were aware of the infraction but did nothing.
I do have some misgivings that leaders get more TV coverage and are therefore more likely to be scrutinized but that may just be the price to pay.
Where I do disagree is the penalty for an incorrect scorecard...She could not have known and there has been talk before of changing that rule. However, I have no problem with the two stroke penalty for playing from the wrong spot. It was unfortunate but eveyone implying she did nothing wrong is mistaken. She played from the wrong spot.

Could not agree more with what you said.

Lexi violated a rule.

The officials did exactly what they are obligated to do under the Rules of Golf, that is, "He must act on any breach of a Rule that he observes or is reported to him."

A decision, 34-3/9, says "Testimony of those who are not a part of the competition, including spectators, must be accepted and evaluated It is also appropriate to use television footage and the like to assist in resolving doubt."[/B] This is why "call-ins" are permitted because they obviously assist in getting the ruling right in order to be fair for the entire field.

Two problems:
(1) Call-ins.
(2) Rule 6-6d. Signing an incorrect scorecard.
How should these be changed for the better, but at the same time ensuring that the final result is exactly what it should be?

[john21wall]

Lol The proper title for this video should be "A weird instrumental piece with random photos of womenGolfers." Then everyone would knownot to waster a minute and a half of their lives watching it.

[stevek]

Could not agree more with what you said.

Lexi violated a rule.

The officials did exactly what they are obligated to do under the Rules of Golf, that is, "He must act on any breach of a Rule that he observes or is reported to him."

A decision, 34-3/9, says "Testimony of those who are not a part of the competition, including spectators, must be accepted and evaluated It is also appropriate to use television footage and the like to assist in resolving doubt."[/B] This is why "call-ins" are permitted because they obviously assist in getting the ruling right in order to be fair for the entire field.

Two problems:
(1) Call-ins.
(2) Rule 6-6d. Signing an incorrect scorecard.
How should these be changed for the better, but at the same time ensuring that the final result is exactly what it should be?

I believe the 6-6d should be changed and be waived if the cause of this was due to a call-in after the player signed card.

[nolrac2]

No doubt about it ..she was cheating..avoiding a spike mark etc for sure. Vijay had a reputation for doing this early in his career. We all know exactly what she was doing because we have all either done it or made decision not to do it. She had the presence of mind to rotate the ball in her fingers but then forgot how to put the ball back where it was in relation to her marker..I doubt it. Only reason could be that she marked the ball wrong initially and then was actually putting it where it should be which sometimes happens when you mark quickly. Unfortunately either one is a penalty and she got caught (and no one else in the field GOT caught this week). Mickelson says there are number of guys on tour who regularly do this and he for one is not too impressed and thinks it needs to be addressed. Why would anyone be surprised that a pro golfer cheats....pros cheat in every other sport and we all play with cheaters and have to regularly decide not to cheat ourselves when playing. Also on 17 on Saturday she was tied at -13 in a major..lots of incentive to cheat. Unfortunately there is not much incentive to get a reputation for calling this out during a tournament given the buddy buddy atmosphere of the Tours and that some of the worst culprits might and probably are guys or woman in the top 20-30 who are all going to be on the same teams for Ryder Cup etc...really uncomfortable. I am sure rider cup etc teammates have watched their partners break a rule and basically looked the other way. Makes you wonder what other rules the pros let slide since each player is supposed to protect the field but judging by Mickelson's comments there is not much incentive or culture to do this when it happens. WE all know Karma isn't the answer just ask the Falcons.

[nolrac2]

Completely agree. When she signed her score card it was correct. The penalty was not applied until the next day. Once again the people running golf look like idiots.

The assumption of the rule is that you knew you were cheating in which case you knew you would be penalized 2 strokes and then went ahead and signed a card like you weren't cheating...invalid score. Pros cheat all the time she got caught....might have been the 2nd 3rd, 4th time she did it we don't know since pros rarely challenge each other on these rule violations despite Mickelson's comments that it is much more common than we would want to believe. Funny how when this stuff happens ..all the stuff about how disciplined and organized and particular and diligent about their preshot routines, and lining up their putts, etc etc etc goes out the window and now she suddenly forgot how to mark her ball properly. One could argue that in terms of what is important to the integrity of golf ..marking your ball properly is the NO 1 most important element of golf on the greens. Makes you wonder if she WAS actually marking her ball properly.....if you want to make more putts that is. We should all work on that part of our routines and lower our scores too.Rub of the green.... a closer look at the pros says not so much if they can help it and no one says anything.

[BC MIST]

I believe the 6-6d should be changed and be waived if the cause of this was due to a call-in after the player signed card.

I am sure there are other reasons for the inclusion of 6-6d in the Rules of Golf, but in scenarios like Lexi's including the two strokes for playing from a wrong place would be fair enough. Whether the original penalty came from a call-in or by any other of the acceptable means of gathering information, IMO, is irrelevant. Regardless of the method used, I will always support "getting the ruling right." Even though call-ins are perceived as being distasteful, not allowing the officials to use them, could result in a wrong ruling and provide an undeserving player with a win, or a higher placement than earned.

[orangeTANG]

Thought another was going to happen with Sergio in the pine straw on Sunday

[BigFlopper]

Out of curiosity, what would have happened if the "violation" had happened during the final round and reported the next day? Would they have taken the trophy away and deducted the winnings from the person's bank account?

[sliceleft]

There was a report last year of a kid who won a tournament, got home after a long drive, and realized the next day that he had 15 clubs in his bag. He reported it and disqualified himself. Classy. The answer is clear even for the PGA, but boy, would it be messy.

[goochy]

Out of curiosity, what would have happened if the "violation" had happened during the final round and reported the next day? Would they have taken the trophy away and deducted the winnings from the person's bank account?

After the tournament is finished any violations reported wouldn't matter...The result is in the books and the tournament is over and results would stand.
I think part of the confusion comes from people viewing each round as a discrete event. This isn't the case....The first round and the fourth round and still part of the same tournament, more analogous to quarters in a basketball game than "seperate" rounds. However once the final round is concluded and signed off...That's it.