Linda,
I was fascinated by the question, and your answer on, #587
(cheating). I commend you on your ability to convert 'legal' jargon into
English.
I sit on the Competition Committee of my Club. The question
posed by Lou is almost identical to a situation we faced recently. We were spared
(or perhaps deprived) of the opportunity to adjudicate on this cheating as the
individual resigned from the Club.
There was an interesting dilemma arising from this
situation. The match was in our Club's four-ball better-ball match play
knockout competition. The eventual winning pair are awarded a trophy and have
their names added to the honours board in the Clubhouse.
The offending individual ceased his participation in the
match and left the course. However, his partner continued to play alone, as allowed
within the R&A rules, and actually went on to win the match.
He subsequently withdrew his pairing from the competition
and his opponents in the next round were given a bye.
The question is this. Does an act of cheating by one player
in a pairs competition immediately disqualify the pairing?
I accept that this is probably too obscure to publish, but
it is interesting nonetheless.
Regards,
Lou from the UK
Dear Lou,
Rule 30-3e states that a side is disqualified if either
partner is disqualified under Rule 33-7 (Disqualification Penalty; Committee
Discretion). I would assume that any Committee would consider cheating to be a
breach of etiquette serious enough to disqualify a player. Once the cheater is
disqualified, the team is disqualified.
Under both R&A and USGA rules, a player is allowed to
complete a better ball match without a partner. However, disqualification for a
serious breach of etiquette would take precedence. As soon as the Committee
becomes aware of the cheating and decides to disqualify the player, the
“innocent” partner is disqualified and the match is over.
Linda
Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
