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MTM: Day moves to No. 1, controversy at Solheim Cup

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And then there was 1: BMW Championship

Jason Day has been on the type of run that makes giddy, ecstatic wags proclaim him to be the one ring to rule them all (or something like that). Problem is, they said that about Rory (for the second time) 10 months ago, and about Jordan after The Open Championship. So, cast aside the what-ifs and the just maybes and accept what Day did this week for what it simply is: a massive performance by a guy firing on all cylinders that, by the way, elevated him to the No. 1 world ranking.

In August, Day won the PGA Championship and The Barclays in such overpowering fashion that those two wins felt like four. His two earlier victories (RBC Canadian Open and Farmers Insurance Open) brought whispers of “Can he possibly wrest the player of the year award from Spieth?” Newsflash: wresting has commenced. Day jumped out front with 61-63 during the work week, then added a 69 on Saturday to enter Sunday with a large lead. Last week’s winner, Rickie Fowler, made a brief run on Sunday, as did Daniel Berger. Day and his new driver simply made par after par on Sunday (14 of them, in case you wondered), birdied two of the final three holes for show, and increased his lead in the FedExCup standings.

U.S. completes dramatic comeback at the Solheim Cup

One of those heralded comebacks took place in Germany on a European Sunday. Trouble for the home crowd was, it was all Red on the board, which meant Team USA was on a roll. Eight of 12 ladies in red, white and blue won their matches on a day and the Solheim Cup returned to the western hemisphere for the first time since 2009.

The European side appeared ready to gather in a third consecutive victory after the first seven matches went 3-3-1. Needing only a half among the final five matches to retain the trophy, the hosts could merely watch as Salas, Stanford, Kerr, Wie and Creamer won convincingly.

Solheim Cup controversy

  • Warning: this video contains strong language

A controversial moment in the completion of Saturday’s fourball matches stoked the U.S. team’s fires and gave them ammo to stage their heralded victory march. U.S. rookie Alison Lee missed a short birdie putt, then picked up the even-shorter par putt, only to have Suzann Petersen announce that her side had not conceded the wee comebacker. As expected, both captains rallied to their troops’ sides. Team Europe’s Carin Koch sighed something about rules,

We all feel bad for Alison. She made a mistake and it’s very unfortunate. We don’t want things like that to happen. She made a mistake in the rules of golf. We had a rules meeting and we clearly stated that you have to concede a putt very clearly and she didn’t go with the rule. The rules are the rules. You have to follow the rules.

U.S. Captain Juli Inkster was much more direct in her assessment of the situation.

It’s just B.S. as far as I’m concerned … there’s no way they could ever justify that. I don’t care what you say, you just don’t do that to your peers.

The best reaction, though, was Alison Lee’s simple, one-letter Tweet.

lee

Karlberg wins the Italian Open

No one in the gallery would have given Rikard Karlberg much of a shot against Martin Kaymer in a sudden-victory playoff. That, however, is why balls are driven and putts holed. Despite an errant tee ball on the second playoff hole, Karlberg recovered over the trees with a deadly iron shot, then drained the putt for his first tour victory. Kaymer had given three shots back on the back nine, so his frustration level was measurable. With the win, Karlberg joined Thomas Pieters and Lee Slattery as inaugural winners on the European Tour this month.

Web.Com Playoffs are the stuff of dreams and nightmares

Week 2 of the Web-Offs was a nail-biter. You see, 25 chaps have already secured PGA Tour cards for the new season that begins next month. Up for grabs are 25 more cards and the chance to improve one’s ranking (it’s a little confusing, so here’s your homework).

At the Small Business Connection Championship, Emiliano Grillo had the lead for the majority of the day, but the Argentinean Euro-Tourer could not separate for trying. A bogey on No. 16, combined with a Chez Reavie birdie on No. 18 left Grillo a stroke back with three to play. Despite a 280-yard driving average, “the cricket” (Grillo in Spanish) reached the par-five 18th in two mighty blows. Three putts later, his chance at a playoff win and his heart were broken, and Reavie grabbed a much-needed victory.

Millard wins on the Mackenzie Tour, earns Web.com Tour status

Ryan Williams was gunning for a second consecutive victory at the Freedom 55 Financial championship, and he nearly pulled it off. Williams had a putt for the win on the first playoff hole, but it missed on the left. The defending champion then made a mess of the second playoff go-round and third-round co-leader Jason Millard was able to two-putt for par and the victory.

J.J. Spaun won the season-long Order of Merit and earned a full Web.Com Tour card for the upcoming season. Four other golfers earned conditional status by virtue of their occupation of the second through fifth spots on the Mackenzie Tour money list. One of the five was Millard, whose victory money was just enough to gain him some Web.com Tour status.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

36 Comments

36 Comments

  1. Gus

    Sep 21, 2015 at 3:55 pm

    “controversy”???????? what??? Europe clearly didn’t concede the putt, when you play matchplay you should NEVER expect anything to be conceded that’s like the first rule of match play. And not to sound misogynistic, but this should not have warranted any tears.

  2. Timbleking

    Sep 21, 2015 at 1:54 pm

    Bla bla bla…hearing is not enough, be sure you check your opponent’s eyes on that matter, telling you this is actually good. Lee made a mistake. Period.

  3. prime21

    Sep 21, 2015 at 11:17 am

    Unless I clearly heard my opponent say, “that is good”, I would assume that my ball must still be holed out. I certainly would NEVER pick the ball up & if there was any doubt, I would ask my opponent for clarification regarding the status of my next putt. At the very least, I would mark it prior to making any other move. While the whole scene was quite confusing, I think it’s safe to say that every player knows that they should never touch their ball while playing, this is the Rules of Golf 101. Just as I could not assume that I can ground my club in the sandy area where my ball lies because crowds have been walking through it, lawn chairs have been used for seating in it, I cannot assume my next putt is good based on the non-verbal reactions of my opponents and the crowd. Once she touched it, I don’t think Petersen could have retroactively given her the putt, so there was really nothing that could be done under the rules. Unfortunately, the rules often seem harsh or even unjust, & I think we have witnessed another example of why the Rule Book should be revisited & updated to clean up the many poorly written rules that exist so that they actually do what they have always been intended to do, protect the game & those that play, NOT to unjustly penalize players when there is no need to do so. While I don’t fault Petersen at all in this case, & I don’t understand why anyone would, I must say that I am thrilled for the US Team & specifically Alison Lee for bringing the Cup back to ‘Merica!

    • Carlos Danger

      Sep 21, 2015 at 12:11 pm

      Everything you said is true…however not relevant to this situation being that Allison Lee said she heard someone say it was good. Thats really the only thing to debate/discuss/focus on.

      We can try to figure out if A. Lee or the Euros are lying about having heard “thats good” or having said “thats good.” B. If Lee heard something along the lines of that WAS a good putt referring to her missed birdie and assumed that was a “thats good” concede statement. C. If she heard someone in the crowd, behind her, etc…say that was good.

      All of the other variables are nice little discussion topics (walking off the green, rules official, sportsmanship, etc) but do not matter unless you know which of the above A,B,C scenarios are correct

      • MO

        Sep 21, 2015 at 1:56 pm

        But neither of the European players actually said it, as they have stated, so that should be that, that Lee should have checked directly with their opponents, it was on her to do that. Never assume anything

        • Carlos Danger

          Sep 22, 2015 at 10:24 am

          well not sure your getting the point here. she thought she heard them say it.

          in my club matches, if I have a 18 inch putt and I hear “thats good” i dont look around and say “uh, can you please repeat that because i heard you say it but want to make sure you said so you dont say that you didnt say it.”

          in hindsight…sure we can say that she should “never assume anything” but she was not assuming anything. she thought she heard “thats good”.

          so back to my original assertion above, which of the three scenarios happened?

    • Hippocamp

      Sep 21, 2015 at 1:16 pm

      Hmmm. See video above in which Petterson’s own team and a caddy (hers?) call her out for poor sportsmanship. I don’t think they would have done that if it were impossible under the rules to concede the putt afterward.

  4. Hippocamp

    Sep 21, 2015 at 10:55 am

    “– The most famous, and magnanimous, conceded putt was the three-footer Jack Nicklaus gave to Tony Jacklin in the final match of the otherwise contentious 1969 Ryder Cup, resulting in a draw between the U.S. and Europeans. “I don’t think you would have missed that Tony,” Nicklaus said, “but I didn’t want to give you the chance.”

    Class.

    • erke

      Sep 21, 2015 at 11:13 am

      It was in a different part of the match. And Nicklaus got a lot of critic for it, but it was classy. Doesn’t mean you concede everything from 3 feet though.
      Here it feels they try to pin their own fault on Petersen and they are getting away with it.

      • Hippocamp

        Sep 21, 2015 at 12:46 pm

        I’m not saying that Lee didn’t make a mistake. Either she heard a “good” that wasn’t said by the players or she didn’t hear “good” and, after she picked up up, she thought, “I wouldn’t have done that unless I had heard ‘good'”. Memory is funny that way.

        But in EITHER case, the classy move would have been to concede the putt anyway, since Charley Hull clearly treated it as good (she was walking off the green) and it was only 18 inches.

        But in the meantime, Petterson has written a long apology, so that basically wraps it up.

  5. Don OConnor

    Sep 21, 2015 at 10:11 am

    Anyone that has played Matchplay events knows that the concession has to be stated. All Alison had to do is ask if the putt was good. Better to be safe than sorry. It was unfortunate, but it changed the momentum in the matches. Only Suzanne knows if how this went down was intentional. Alison showed all a lot by winning her singles match. Congrats USA

    • Carlos Danger

      Sep 21, 2015 at 11:53 am

      No one would dispute this statement…however, considering Allison said she heard “thats good” (or some variation of that) that would be the deciding factor.

      We can argue all day long about how Euros should not have left the green, you dont make people putt 18 inchers, the rules official started to announce the halved hole, Allison should not have “assumed” it was good, any other spin you want to put on it. If someone on the Euro team did say it was good or if Allison made that up/heard incorrectly…thats the only relevant thing here.

      I certainly cant blame her if she thought she heard that with all of the factors.

  6. erke

    Sep 21, 2015 at 10:03 am

    Petersen didn’t leave. She is not in picture in those videos I have seen.
    Putt is short but not a tapin.
    You don’t concede your own putts. It’s pretty arrogant to do. I would be pretty offened if someone gave them self a putt like this and claimed I should concede it out of pity afterwards. Just suck up your mistake and move on.

    • Carlos Danger

      Sep 21, 2015 at 11:46 am

      I agree that she should never concede her own putt…but her explanation was that she thought she heard that it was good (or some variation of that). That mixed with the Euro women/caddies walking away I think is pretty reasonable from her perspective (in terms of our criticism of her) to have thought it was conceded.

      To me…none of the variables matter in terms of Euros walking away, 18 inch putts should be conceded out of sportsmanship, etc…matter at all. The main thing to focus on is whether or not someone on the Euro team said it was good or not. She said she heard it, they said they didnt say it. Maybe they said “good putt” referring to the missed birdie, maybe someone in the crowd said it, maybe it was not said at and she is lying, who knows…Being that no one really knows all of our arguing about is pretty irrelevant.

  7. Greg V

    Sep 21, 2015 at 9:06 am

    I fault the official in the Alison Lee incident. Charley Hull was clearly walking toward the next tee, and Pettersen had moved to the far end of the green, ready to go to the next tee. Under the circumstances, most would have concluded that the putt was conceded.

    IN such a situation, the referee should have asked Alison to put her ball back and make the putt. IN the future, if a putt is not conceded, the non-conceding player(s) should stick around the action to watch. Etiquette 201.

  8. Nathan

    Sep 21, 2015 at 8:24 am

    The only problem I had with the the Solheim Cup moment, is that you do not leave the green or walk away unless the player has finished. If you are making her putt it, as a player be respectful and watch her finish the hole. However, this is norm on tour these days, but it sends a completely different message in match play. (They were walking right in front of her vision if she had went around to putt out)

    • Keith

      Sep 21, 2015 at 9:21 am

      You are exactly right. I’ve played a bunch of match play and while I always ask, regardless of the length of the putt, a sure sign of it being good is the opponent walking away towards the next. If you want someone to hole out you don’t move, you stand there and stare at the hole. Bottomline is that Petersen baited Lee into picking it up and then put her playing partner, Hull, in a bad spot since she was the one walking away. Hull should’ve overruled Suzann and said, “No, it was good”, but she’s only 19 and I’m sure felt she needed to defer to Suzann.

      Karma made it all a moot point a few hours later though.

  9. Ronald Montesano

    Sep 21, 2015 at 7:22 am

    To Sam Tucker in Facebook comment above:

    Explain yourself. Your message isn’t coming through. Good to have someone explain my own vernacular to me. Thanks for writing.

    RM

  10. christian

    Sep 21, 2015 at 7:22 am

    I feel Day is the more modern “power player” that can hold it together longer. Spieth is a bit short and so more vulnerable, like Luke Donald. More pressure on being a great iron player, a more “traditional” well-rounded golfer. But power golf is the future

    • Ronald Montesano

      Sep 21, 2015 at 7:23 am

      It’s funny, but I dd not associate power golf with Day until this year. Was he always that deep? He’s like Norman, but seems to have a firmer grasp on the pressure moments.

      • christian

        Sep 21, 2015 at 8:49 am

        Yeah, maybe he was a bit under the radar in general? Anyway, he is certainly a bomber/power player. With added finesse of course.

  11. Barry

    Sep 21, 2015 at 6:29 am

    Pettersen is a disgrace,she destroyed the European team morale and fired up the USA team,look up payne Stewart and Jack nicklaus for examples of class,thanks Suzanne, you cost us the cup,no longer my fave female player

  12. rwj

    Sep 21, 2015 at 5:57 am

    I agree the putt wasn’t conceded, but when the pros want to play mind games and make you putt out a short putt, they stand there and watch. The two ladies clearly watched the missed putt and walked away the same way they always do when they are through with the hole. Just shaddy, not against the rules, just poor sportsmanship. I wonder how they feel now that they were blown out in the singles

    • Ronald Montesano

      Sep 21, 2015 at 7:26 am

      I might be int he minority, but this is not the heinous crime against all of humanity that writers and readers are touting it to be. There was no cheating involved. Far be it from me to determine the extent of the spirit of anything. It made good copy for writers, though. They should all buy Suzann a gift.

      • Don

        Sep 21, 2015 at 10:44 am

        I agree. This is not really that big a deal. It does show poor form however. Reminds me of Alex Rodriguez of all people a few years back when he would start yelling to distract the fielders as he was running the bases. Not illegal by any means. Just extremely bush league.

        • Joe

          Sep 21, 2015 at 1:00 pm

          It’s not about whether it’s actually cheating or not. It was a total BS move and Petterson knows it. Otherwise, why does she apologize today?

          Golf is different from any other sport that way. Sure, no written rules were broken. But hey it’s not illegal to yell in the middle of an opponent’s backswing either. Or to rip a huge gash in the green right through your opponent’s line.

          In any other sport, maybe it’s no big deal. But it’s a big deal in golf.

  13. Rich

    Sep 21, 2015 at 4:45 am

    GO JASON DAY! YOU ARE AWESOME AND ALL OF AUSTRALIA IS SO EXCITED FOR YOU! C’MON AUSSIE!

  14. Saved

    Sep 21, 2015 at 3:37 am

    Juli Inkster’s an idiot. She’s lucky that her players won most of the Singles matches for her and saved her.

  15. marcel

    Sep 21, 2015 at 12:05 am

    Jason is POY – most consistent and improving game in last 5-6 years. Jordan is this year wonder and still a rookie. Go Jason

    • Smarter Than You

      Sep 21, 2015 at 12:42 am

      Jordan isn’t a rookie. Lord.

  16. Joe

    Sep 20, 2015 at 11:59 pm

    Golf sucks. Women’s golf sucks even more.

    • devilsadvocate

      Sep 21, 2015 at 5:56 am

      Lol @ ur pathetically obvious troll attempt

      • Joe

        Sep 21, 2015 at 10:05 am

        haha Not trolling. I just had a bad day out there yesterday and then I come home and have to listen to the women of the solheim getting catty back and forth about an infraction that it pitiful on both sides. Give the putt instead of using it as a tool to steal a hole – but at the same time don’t pick up your ball until it’s GIVEN. It just seems like these petty bickering issues follow the women. Golf is certainly the devils game. And yes I play.

        Jason Day was the highlight of the week for sure.

    • Ronald Montesano

      Sep 21, 2015 at 7:28 am

      Care to elaborate? All golf is great, so you can see that I disagree.

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