Rules applied by Augusta National in Tiger Woods' drop
AUGUSTA, Ga. - U.S. Golf Association rules were applied by Augusta National Golf Club in assessing Tiger Woods a 2-stroke penalty for an illegal drop in Friday's second round.
AUGUSTA, Ga. - U.S. Golf Association rules were applied by Augusta National Golf Club in assessing Tiger Woods a 2-stroke penalty for an illegal drop in Friday's second round.
The setup
Woods hit his third shot into the water in front of the 15th green. After a 1-stroke penalty for losing the ball in a hazard, his next shot would be his fifth.
The infraction
Under rule 27-1, Woods' options included:
Play the shot as near as possible to the spot from which the original ball was last played (Rule 20-5)
Drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped
Drop a ball outside the water hazard within two club-lengths of and not nearer the hole than (1) the point where the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard or (2) a point on the opposite margin of the water hazard equidistant from the hole.
USGA's decision
The USGA penalized Woods 2 strokes for the incorrect ball drop using Rule 33-7, which covers disqualification options. It reads this way:
"A penalty of disqualification may in exceptional individual cases be waived, modified or imposed if the Committee considers such action warranted. Any penalty less than disqualification must not be waived or modified. If a Committee considers that a player is guilty of a serious breach of etiquette, it may impose a penalty of disqualification under this Rule."
The USGA did not disqualify Woods because it determined he was unaware he was signing a wrong scorecard, which is covered under that same rule. Woods was told by rules officials before he signed his Friday card that his ball drop was legal. It wasn't until Saturday morning, after the USGA viewed his Friday post-round news conference, when he said he purposely moved back from where he hit his third shot, that the USGA wanted to speak with him about it and later penalized him 2 strokes.
The USGA had the discretion to disqualify him, but a spokesman Saturday said only a penalty or no penalty was ever debated.