Last weekend during the Presidents Cup, we had the chance to witness 2 uncommon rulings.
Practice
Between the play of 2 holes, Lahri did a few practice strokes in a bunker.
In a Match Play Competition, a player may practice putting or chipping on or near:
the putting green of the hole last played.
any practice putting green, or
the teeing ground of the next hole to be played.
If a player practices a stroke elsewhere, he loses the next hole. Because he was playing in a Four-Ball competition, he was disqualified from the next home but his partner could play that hole. If they had been in a Foursomes Format, the team would have lost the next hole.
Exertinf influence on the movement of the opponent's ball
The Americans Spieth and Reed had birdie putts. Jason Day had already his birdie conceded and Osthuizen was outside the green and he made his stroke for an eagle. The ball ran past the hole at a good speed. Spieth stopped the moving ball and gave it to the opponent because it did not matter anymore.
The referee, told Spieth that he committed a breach of the Rule and was disqualified from the hole. We are not allowed to exert influence on a ball in play
An interesting turn of events involving @JordanSpieth …#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/OUo0BBHdQQ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 30, 2017
Cmments
I will probably not make many friends in the Rules Officials community. I think the interpretation of that rule is wrong. My understanding of that rule is that the ball must be in play. I strongly believe Oosthizen’s result did not matter anymore, Day had his birdie and the ball was not returning to the hole. So for me that ball was not in play anymore .
Spieth should not have been penalised.
Claire
Edouard,
Tu sais autant que moi par définition, la balle est encore en jeu, même si elle n’a plus son utilité pour le match. Ce qui est important est que les spectateurs ont compris/appris par ce qui s’est passé et en souhaitant que la R&A et USGA révisent la règle pour 2019 ou émettent une directive/décision pour ce cas particulier.
Édouard Rivard
Merci pour ton commentaire
Je comprends la manière dont la décision a été prise. Je suis quand même de l’opinion comme plusieurs autres personnes, qu’il aurait été possible de faire le parallèle avec la Décision 17-2/2. C’est sensiblement la même logique. De plus pour ceux qui ont souvent joué des Parties par trous, on le fait régulièrement…..
Tu as raison aussi en proposant que les instances réglementaires effectuent les modifications appropriées pour effectivement suivre la même logique que le D 17-2/2, surtout le dernier paragraphe.