off the other side, he batted it back towards the
hole while it was still in motion. He incurred a
two-stroke penalty which gave him a 10 on the
hole. After his round he told the mass of reporters
that he did it intentionally to avoid having to deal
with the shot he would have if his balled would’ve
rolled to off the green.
However, that brings into light another issue.
Golf is a game all about etiquette and playing the
game the right way. Since Mickelson admitted
to knowingly breaking the rules, is this a serious
breach of etiquette? If so, then under rule 33-7,
the Committee can disqualify the player. Many
thought Mickelson should have been disqualifi ed,
but most of the players sided with Mickelson.
I feel as if it was a shot at the USGA for once
again getting the setup wrong in a U.S. Open.
That brings us to the USGA.
I like the fact the governing body of the
Americas try to push the players to the limit.
Once a year to see the best players in the world
struggle to make pars is fi ne with me. However,
it blows me away they continue to make mistakes
with course setups. Twice at Shinnecock, once at
Olympic, and another time at Pinehurst all come
to mind. Forget the debacle with Dustin Johnson
at Oakmont, we’ll give them a pass on that one.
Maybe it’s time for the USGA to swallow a
bit of pride and ask other organizations like the
PGA Tour, PGA of America, and Royal an d
Ancient for a little help. They seem to only react
to situations instead of taking the “safe than
sorry” approach. Perhaps in the future, they will
actually learn from their mistakes as the next fi ve
venues are classic style courses. Slow the greens
down just a bit and stay away from the iff y hole
locations would be at the top of the list of getting
it right.
Jake
visit https://www.pgajrleague.com
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