Let's Be Fair

Whether you are a Tiger lover or hater you have to admit he had the absolute worst luck on Friday at #15.  While doing a What If is a waste of time, the 4 strokes that shot ultimately cost him were the difference between 4th place and a playoff.  Did he have a bad tournament like the announce crew was saying?  I don't think so.

What about that ruling?  The rule was created with exactly this sort of situation in mind.  There will be those that will call this the Tiger Rule and the comments that a new era in rules has begun are probably true because this is the first time it's been invoked ON THE BIG STAGE.  Ultimately it should bring fairness back to the players.  No longer should someone be DQ'd for signing an incorrect scorecard like the two players at The Open a few years back who kept the correct scores on the wrong cards and nobody caught the mistake until it was too late.  It's tough enough to play this game, we don't need arcane technicalities deciding the outcome.  Most rules are written such that in the absence of any proof to the contrary the breach should be resolved AGAINST the player.  I for one am glad there is rule that can protect the player.

Next time a tournament official delivers the bad news that you have been assessed a penalty for slow play please try to accept it like a 14 year old and Play On!  What an inspiring performance from TianLang Guan.

I was in Sydney in 1996 during The Masters  and experienced the utter disappointment of an entire country when Greg Norman lost to Nick Faldo.  I wish I could have been there yesterday for the sheer joy.  You could hear it in Ian Baker-Finch's voice.  What a great finish.