howard wrote:I don't know. I don't think he touched the ball. He did ground his club, on the side of the ball, and immediately after lifting the club, the ball moved. I think that makes him liable for causing the ball to move, hence a one stroke penalty.rass wrote:Thanks h. So did he?
Where the fuck is AB when he could be useful about something other than bourbon?
eta: I added words, "…on the side of the ball…"
Sorry sorry sorry! I was watching on delay trying like hell to catch up before the start of the Finals. It was absurd. Finally one of the commentators made mention of the fact that the ball trickled backwards, and the motion that Johnson was making at the time would have made it difficult for that to have happened. The ball moved, though, and the winds weren't high enough nor the greens slick enough that it had been happening a lot, so it was probably always gonna end badly for Johnson on that decision.
That said, he IMMEDIATELY asked for a review, was told it was fine. They never should have told him it MIGHT be a penalty on the 12th tee. They should have said, yup, it's a penalty and adjusted the scores so everyone knew what they were playing for and where they stood. Even if the decision is wrong, make it decisively. It ended up not mattering, which is good, but it doesn't change the fact that the process was fucked up.
I also think the USGA/rules officials should be able to fuck up and it benefit a player. Golf is the only sport where you can go back and retroactively say a foul occurred. Which is fine..IF the player doesn't immediately ask for a ruling. Since DJ asked, I think that official's ruling should have been considered final. You should still be able to see if a person grounded their club in a hazard or something like that and retroactively assess, but for things like this and improper drops, if the official with the group OKs it, then that decision should be final.