I was watching a little of the US Senior Open from Sahalee, just outside Seattle, Washington.

Now, I am not a huge fan of the Champions Tour. They operate like a good-old boys club, where if you're an "outsider" - meaning, if you weren't a regular on the PGA Tour - then it's next to impossible to get on the Tour, even if you're one of the best players of that age.

There was a situation in the 2nd round that only reinforced my view. Eduardo Romero missed a putt, and was walking around the hole to tap in. He didn't take a normal stance, he just sort of did the thing we all do, walked up to the ball and was about to hit it, when the ball moved. It didn't oscillate, it definitely moved.

They showed a close-up of what happened. Romero grounded his putter behind the ball, and the ball moved. The putter was about 3-4 inches behind the ball, and on the ground. A USGA official was on the scene, asking Romero (and Tom Watson) what happened.

In the end, Watson encouraged Romero to say that, yes, he grounded the putter behind the ball, but it wasn't a grounding of the putter to address the ball, rather it was with the intention to move the putter closer to the ball and then tap in.

I will say that Fred Couples was watching everything that was going on, and his body language did not give me the impression that he was happy with the situation. I think in his mind he thought it should have been a penalty. I will also say that the commentator in the booth (think it was Dan Hicks) was pressing the in-studio rules guy for an explanation, and even sent so far as to ask him if he agreed with the ruling. The guy hesitated, then said yes, he did agree. I think Hicks was just as incredulous as I was.

Rules guys, see anything wrong? If you sole your putter 3-4 inches behind the ball, isn't that addressing it?