down play”, “irritating to other players in the
group”, “I am forced to attend the À ag, when
the players caddie is aligning the player” etc,
were received.
As a result of all these inputs and
extensive deliberations, the Rules of Golf
Committees, of both the R&A and USGA
,felt that such a Rule change, talked about
but discarded, in two quadrennials prior
to the actual change, was much needed.
However, I must confess, that I for one, never
anticipated, the howls of protest, that we are
seeing after the Li Haotong ruling. As for
the other queries, the partner and partner’s
caddie may take the same actions, with the
same limitations! And no, the caddie cannot
stand in front of the player, it defeats the very
purpose of the Rule and such an action would
be in breach of Rule 1.2!
WHAT NEXT?
European Tour CEO, Keith Pelly, was
perhaps, livid, when he wrote to the CEO of
the R&A Martin Slumbers , in the aftermath
of the Ruling. He called the ruling ‘grossly
unfair”. He said “It is my strong belief,
however, that the fact there is no discretion
available to our referees when implementing
rulings such as this is wrong and should
be addressed immediately.” Tour pros
Eddie Pepperell called it “a shockingly bad
decision” and Graeme McDowell said it
was an “awfully harsh penalty.” In response,
Martin Slumbers, CEO of the R&A issued a
statement “We have reviewed the Li Haotong
ruling made by the European Tour referees
and agree that it was correct,” he said. “There
has been some misunderstanding of the new
Rule and I would point out that it is designed
to prevent any opportunity for the caddie to
stand behind the player as he begins to take
his stance. Whether the player intends to be
lined up is not the issue. We appreciate that
it was a very unfortunate situation yesterday
and I completely understand Keith Pelley’s
concerns when a Rules incident occurs at
such a key stage of a European Tour event, but
there is no discretionary element to the Rule
precisely so that it is easier to understand and
can be applied consistently.”
Personally, I believe that the Rule was
well thought out. It’s just that when someone
gets caught out, in this case, unwittingly, it
feels and sounds harsh. While, I am very
comfortable with letting this Rule stay, I feel,
that there just might be, a small window of
opportunity for the two Ruling bodies, the
R&A and the USGA, to take a relook. But
I hope, that there is no change made, people
will just have to get used to lining those
strokes up, all by themselves!
GolfPlus
FEBRUARY
2019
17