Thursday, February 1, 2018

Ask Linda #1690-Breach of rule discovered after competition closed

Hi Linda,
During our Club Championship Stroke Play tournament the following situation came up:

Hole 13 is a Par 3. Player A’s drive landed a few inches from the pin, Player B’s drive struck A’s ball, moving it further from the pin. Player C insisted that Player A not replace it to where it was because Player A was not certain of the exact spot. Player A played the ball from where it had been moved to; she did not replace it.

It is now three days after the tournament has closed. I have just learned about it. Player A won our tournament by 8 strokes. We awarded the trophy and celebrated at a luncheon.

I know in fact, Rule 18-5 says the player who’s ball was struck MUST replace it and if they don’t they are penalized 2 strokes. Secondly Rule 20-3c states if it is “impossible” to determine where it is to be replaced the player is to place it as near as possible to the original location.  

My questions are – after the Tournament has closed and we learn of this are we obliged under the Rules of Golf to go back 3 days out and assess a penalty or do we have the option of letting the scores stand? If it is up to our committee, we would all vote to leave it stand and make a stronger case going forward that Rules issues must be brought to the attention of the Committee before Tournament Close.

Also, if we were to assess the 2-stroke penalty for hole #13, how does Rule 6d fit into that scenario? I realize Player A would not be disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. However, I am confused about the assessment of 2 additional strokes per hole after the breach that occurred, only once, on Hole #13. It was not like she continued to play a wrong ball for several holes, or continued to breach the same rule over and over. Please advise how /if Rule 6d applies.

Thank you,
Lulu from Sun City Center, Florida

Dear Lulu,

The Committee must not impose a penalty after the close of the competition [Rule 34-2b]. The player may keep her trophy. There are exceptions to this Rule, but they do not apply to your situation.

If the matter had been brought to the Committee after the scorecard was signed but before the close of the competition, the Exception to Rule 6-6d would come into play. The player would incur the two-stroke penalty for failure to replace her ball [Rule 18-5], and an additional two-stroke penalty provided in the Exception to Rule 6-6d. The additional two-stroke penalty is applied only to the hole where the breach occurred. The Committee would add four strokes to the player’s score for the round (similar to the Lexi Thompson ruling at the LPGA major in Hawaii in April, 2017).

A golfer who is uncertain of the correct procedure (stroke play only) should play two balls under Rule 3-3 and report the facts to the Committee prior to signing her scorecard. This would take all of the penalty strokes out of consideration.

Linda
Copyright © 2018 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.