Rules expert spotted Tiger's transgression

THE TELEVISION viewer who reported the illegal drop Tiger Woods took during the second round of the Masters was more than just a golf fan. Sports Illustrated reported yesterday it was David Eger, a rules expert who has worked for the USGA and the PGA Tour.

Eger said he was watching the Masters from his home in Florida when he replayed the 15th hole to see how Woods had made bogey. Woods hit the pin with his third shot and it caromed back into the water. He dropped from around the same area, hit into 4 feet and made bogey.

"I could see there was a divot - not a divot, a divot hole - when he played the shot the second time that was not there the first time," Eger told the magazine. "I played it again and again. I could see that the fairway was spotless the first time he played the shot and there was that divot hole, maybe 3 or 4 feet in front of where he played after the drop."

Eger, who now plays on the Champions Tour, said he called Mickey Bradley, one of the PGA Tour rules officials who was working at Augusta National. Bradley was no longer at the course, but he called Fred Ridley, chairman of the Masters competition committee. Bradley also said he sent a copy of Eger's text to Ridley and to Mark Russell, the tour's vice president of competition who serves on the Masters committee. Woods eventually was given a two-shot penalty for the illegal drop, but he was not disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

Eger was director of tournament administration at the PGA Tour for 10 years until joining the USGA as senior director of rules and competition from 1992 to 1995. He returned to the PGA Tour as vice president of competition until 1996.

In other golf news:

* Vijay Singh withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C., because of a sore back, a day after the PGA Tour said it would not punish the Fijian for his admission that he used deer antler spray.

* A Chinese golf prodigy will set the record for the youngest player in a European Tour event. When Ye Wo-cheng tees off at the China Open today, he'll be the youngest in a European Tour event at 12 years, 242 days. He follows Guan Tian-lang, who made history last month when he became the youngest to compete in the Masters and make the cut.

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III told ESPN The Magazine that he has learned from his mistake and now will take himself out a game when he is injured. He continued to play on a bad knee in a playoff loss last season and is recovering from multiple torn ligaments.

* The Kansas City Chiefs thinned out a crowded defensive backfield by trading Javier Arenas to Arizona for fullback Anthony Sherman.

As expected, Tony Washington, a 6-9 forward from Greenville, S.C., has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at La Salle, the school announced.

* Former Florida State quarterback Clint Trickett has transferred to West Virginia.

EBay said it is monitoring listings to ensure nobody uses the auction website to profit from the Boston Marathon bombings.