News
Webb Simpson the latest player to be hit with a penalty as he pleads for intent to be included in Rule 9.4b
Webb Simpson is the latest PGA Tour player to be handed a penalty on Tour, with the 33-year-old receiving a one-stroke penalty on Sunday afternoon at the Players Championship, leading the former U.S. Open champion to declare that “we have to get intent into the rules.”
The incident occurred on the 14th green at TPC Sawgrass when Simpson was addressing a 47-foot birdie putt from the fringe. Simpson disclosed following his round how his putter accidentally became tangled in his shirt, moving his golf ball “a quarter of an inch.” The 33-year-old was assessed a one-stroke penalty from a rules official having been deemed in violation of Rule 9.4b (Ball Lifted or Moved by Player).
Had Simpson had accidentally moved his ball on the putting surface, the American would not have been handed a penalty, but since the incident occurred off the green, it violated the rules. Something which Simpson, while speaking after the round, was frustrated with (per Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard)
“I’m going to be loud and clear, we have to get intent into the rules. We have to. Because it’s killing our game when it comes to these kind of things. What they try to say is either it’s hard to write the rule with intent or you open it up for gray area.
I think it’s actually the opposite. There’s no advantage. My putter hit my clothes, it moved it a quarter inch, I’m going to move it back. So I’m just I’m hoping that somehow or another intent can get broadened.”
Simpson finished the event T16 after birdieing two of his final three holes on Sunday.
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News
Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls
This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)
This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.
LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms
There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.
This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.
Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.
Take a look back at hole No. 1… @rosezhang is living life on the edge ? pic.twitter.com/o6z6SK7TRA
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte
Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.
Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.
HOLE-OUT EAGLE FOR RORY!!!
He now leads by SIX! pic.twitter.com/UE49lwfwNC
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week
It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.
The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.
Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.
Leader by SIX!
@ChrisGotterup | @MyrtleBeachC pic.twitter.com/TVdA6ZPYc4— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie
Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.
In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again. Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.
Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.
At the @RegionsTrad, all champions receive a green bike.
Doug Barron decided to take a victory lap ? pic.twitter.com/bEzENMjZwv
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 13, 2024
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter
Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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knackers
Mar 20, 2019 at 7:47 am
What a sponge. Seems like sportsmanship has gone too the wayside and i wonder how many of these pros would self-impose a penalty if not seen by others/camera. Bobby Jones self-imposed a penalty that cost him the US Open. “You might as well praise me for not robbing banks.”. How about be play with the old rules that your aren’t allowed to pick the ball up and whilst we are at it ban alignment markings on balls.
cody reeder
Mar 19, 2019 at 9:16 am
it is difficult to prove or disprove intent. that is why intent should never be part of any rule for sports. Can you imagine, “I didnt mean to grab your facemask and almost rip your head off” Oh, ok as long as you didn’t intend to, then no foul”.
Or I didnt mean to hit him with the pitch, so he should be able to take his base. Get out of her, spend a few min on your private jet as you fly to your next event a read the rule book a bit.
youraway
Mar 19, 2019 at 8:01 am
With lack of integrity on the Tour, it would be prevalent for accidental movement of the ball to improve ones lie. Don’t believe me, I remember Phil’s comment well when he said he wanted to violate a rule to his benefit, US Open. PLAY THE BALL AS IT LIES AND LEARN THE RULES
Jim
Mar 19, 2019 at 6:49 am
It’s amazing how these pro’s don’t know the rules of the game they play and make a living from, and when they break a rule they don’t think it should apply to them or of late these rules are stupid and hurting the game! Come guys step up and play the game and know the rules!!
Swirley
Mar 18, 2019 at 5:51 pm
Not sure why, but Webb’s face bothers me more than his name does.
Chuck
Mar 18, 2019 at 4:47 pm
More almost-unbelievable stupidity from yet another famous Tour player, who reveals how little he knows about the Rules of Golf even as he claims he knows what to do about them.
In the Golf.com story about this new Simpson complaint, Simpson just embarrassed himself…
“But in making his next point, Simpson badly misstated another of the rules changes.
“’Now you can be looking for a ball in the rough this high at a U.S. Open; if you step on it, it’s a penalty,’ Simpson said, ‘It used not to be a penalty. So they have reversed that rule that saved the player from a mistake that anybody can make, and so why would they change that rule I’m not so sure about.’
“The opposite is actually true.
“Under the old rules, players were penalized for accidentally moving their ball while searching for it. The governing bodies deemed that unfair, as Simpson clearly does, so they changed the rule. Now, players who accidentally move their ball while searching for it do not receive a penalty.”
I say now, again, as I have before. I want these young tour pros to argue all of their Rules complaints with real Rules experts from the USGA, and I want it to happen on live tv, so that I can watch. The USGA is taking so much heat right now from these Tour players, who are actually so very ignorant themselves of the Rules in the game they play for a living.
Geoffrey Holland
Mar 19, 2019 at 12:54 am
Webb Simpson is a holier-than-thou phony christian moron.
Dizzle Trizzle
Mar 18, 2019 at 4:14 pm
I think he had trouble seeing the ball through that chin rug.
William
Mar 18, 2019 at 4:14 pm
Don’t use a putter that comes to your neck and dont ANCHOR it to your forearm. Use the putter like every other club and only let it touch your hands. Why don’t you anchor your driver to your forearm?
CURT
Mar 18, 2019 at 3:50 pm
Best way to fix that is banning long putters.
larrybud
Mar 18, 2019 at 3:43 pm
Don’t move your ball Webb.. pretty simple. Been like that forever, it’s not that hard.