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5. Homa, Thomas on 10.2b(4)
Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine...”Max Homa said players and caddies have been on edge since Haotong Li was slapped with a two-shot penalty for violating 10.2b(4) last Sunday in Dubai. The feeling was heightened following McCarthy’s situation.”
- “We had to play all day today freaking out if my caddie is anywhere near me,” Homa said.
- Even with the penalty being taken away, Homa strongly believes more needs to be done.
- “Get rid of the rule, or just look at intent,” Homa said. “Did Denny try to cheat? No. Was he trying to get lined up? No. He didn’t even address the ball, he backed out of the shot. It’s just ridiculous.
- “My dad taught me that this is the best game to play because it’s a gentlemen’s game and you call penalties on yourself. Now, it really doesn’t seem like you call penalties on yourself. It seems like somebody decides if you’re cheating or not, and it’s becoming outrageous.”
- Thomas called on Twitter for the governing bodies to get rid of 10.2b(4) altogether. When asked about changing the lingo to include intent, Thomas disagreed that was the best move.
- “I hate the word intent because then there’s a gray area and I don’t like gray areas just because it’s, I think, a black-and-white rule is the best way to go about it, because then you either broke the rule or you didn’t versus, well I didn’t intend to, but you did, you know what I’m saying?” Thomas said. “… This is one that definitely needs to be changed and improved, and hopefully will.”
6. Money > morality?
That’s the case Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch makes regaring
“…a tournament created solely to cast Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s regime in a positive light. The players received stout appearance fees, which was only fair since they had to navigate awkward questions about war crimes in Yemen and that bone saw murder in Istanbul. The payment was more for performing in the media than on the golf course, and the well-compensated chorus remained steady of voice all week.”
- “I’m not a politician, I’m a pro golfer,” said world No. 1 Justin Rose.
- “I’m not going to get into it,” echoed world No. 2 Brooks Koepka.
- “It’s my job to play golf,” offered Dustin Johnson, the world No. 3 who went on to win the tournament.
- “While not wanting to get into his hosts having Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi dismembered and dissolved in a vat of acid, Koepka did publicly call out Bryson DeChambeau for taking too long to hit the ball. But then DeChambeau wasn’t paying his appearance fee.”
Lynch concluded with this…”Almost every other sport has produced a seminal figure who used their platform to advance a cause of inclusion, to stand up for something greater than themselves, to make a statement when statements desperately needed to be made. Jackie Robinson. Muhammad Ali. Arthur Ashe. Billie Jean King. LeBron James. No golfers though. Protest movements don’t pay appearance fees.”
- “Plenty of those who pitched up to play in Saudi Arabia are engaged in admirable endeavors off the golf course. But that demands only charity, not courage. We’ll have to keep waiting for that golfer with a conscience, whose vision extends beyond his wallet.”
7. McCarthy’s wild 24 hours
Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”This week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, McCarthy and Smith experienced easily their craziest few moments as a team. One moment, McCarthy was penalized for Smith violating one of the new Rules of Golf. Less than 24 hours later, the PGA Tour was rescinding the penalty, citing “a great deal of confusion among players and caddies on the practical application of the new rule,” as examples of potential infractions began to pile up Friday evening.”
- “I tried to put it past me, but a bunch of people were texting me and sending me pictures of other players yesterday,” McCarthy said Saturday after a third-round 71, which has him, with the penalty taken away, at 8 under entering the final round. “And I called a rules official over this morning and showed them a couple videos of pictures that people sent me of other players doing exactly the same thing and I was trying to find out what the difference was, basically. And he said there was no difference and that they just, they missed it.
- “So, yeah, obviously it’s a great feeling to get those two shots back.”
8. Storm hits Pebble
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell...”A storm ripping through the Monterey Peninsula early Saturday morning destroyed a large upscale hospitality structure, damaged some sky suites and tore apart the giant video screen along the 18th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am just a few days away.”
- “The storm also knocked down a tree near the 17th tee.”
- “We got hit pretty hard,” said Steve John, the event’s CEO and tournament director. “The worst weather is behind us, I’m told, and, fortunately, nobody was hurt. The bottom line is everything is going to be rebuilt. We hope nobody’s going to notice anything happened by the time people arrive for the tournament.”
9. Canada’s first cannabis-friendly golf course
TSN’s Bob Weeks’ on the first course in Canada to embrace grass…and not the bermuda, bent, or rye variety.
- “…Lombard Glen Golf & Country Club..located in Smiths Falls, Ont., is set to become Canada’s first cannabis-friendly golf facility. In fact, when it does open, it will do so with a new name – Rolling Greens.”
- “Seriously….The jokes have been flying fast since Gordon Weiske and his partners purchased the 160-acre layout from longtime owners Dave and Jean Sherman, with plans to gain traction in the cannabis tourism market.”
Full piece. |
19th Hole2 weeks ago
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