Did Wie Really Break the Rules?

[Golf Grouch]

The whole Wie DQ incident has been fuel for interesting discussion. But overlooked has been the critical question of whether Wie broke the rules in the first place . In a rush to judgement, everyone seems to have accepted the allegation of a rule infraction as a fact.

However, after reading the following articles, I don't believe that there was conclusive evidence that Wie broke any rule , even the allegation that Wie was improperly taking her drop below shoulder level:

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.a...7881&select2;=0
http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2198683

[iacas]

Even she admitted to have broken the rules, and that's the most damning evidence out there. She said "maybe three inches" while others said 15-18".

Several others near Bamberger muttered about her breaking the rules too. And, even if her drop was no closer (it was - her backswing would have been interfered with by a bush if she had dropped in the right place, she admitted, crowd noticed, etc.), she used improper drop technique, a one-stroke penalty that would have, if discovered after she signed the card, had the same result: DQ.

So yeah, she broke the rules. Twice, in fact. That much is not a question for me.

[Rickins]

Michelle Wie was the "sole judge" as to whether, or not, her ball was unplayable in the first place. From that point forward, everything that transpired fell on her shoulders including the procedure she opted to take for an unplayable ball. She had three options here and selected the one which provided the least margin for error.

Wie was called on a "possible" Rules violation, provided the Rules official with information about the second drop and was DQ'd based on what she told the official. Those are the "facts".

Did the ball come to rest closer to the hole than its original position and, did she play it from that position? Wie accepted that that's what happened.

We can tar-and-feather Michael Bamberger for the (inexcusably?) late call, send Grace Park to her room with no supper for her supposed indifference and burn the Tournament Committee in effigy for not having the course swarming with officials but, it won't change the outcome in this case. The articles cited bring up some decent points about how this may have been avoided but I, personally, don't see that they've cleared up any questions of fact.

Rick

[iacas]

Wie was called on a "possible" Rules violation, provided the Rules official with information about the second drop and was DQ'd based on what

You forgot quite a few things, not the least of which is simply the fact that Bamberger thought it was a bad drop, as did others nearby. Also, the video tape reveals that Michelle dropped incorrectly, not from shoulder height. And then there's that darn yucca plant.

And, of course, the most damning fact of all: the fact that she was disqualified for signing a wrong scorecard which did not include penalty strokes for breaking the rules. Every fact out there points towards Michelle having done just what it was revealed she had done: break the rules. None point the other way at all, except Wie playing out and not calling a penalty on herself, a decision she later agreed was wrong when she agreed that she had dropped closer. End of discussion. The articles cited contain speculation - and speculation that's easily overturned in some instances - and a whole lot of blather about "a distance of 90 feet" and "can they really tell where the pin was the day before?" Uh, yeah, it's not hard to see the old hole cut out... "It's hilly" is not a defense of anything, and the string was pulled taut, not laid along the ground anyway. In short, the articles raise a few good points, some of which I've been saying for awhile now (Grace Park should have come over, etc.), but, on the whole, deal in speculation. The facts of the matter indicate that Wie did break the rules. End of story, and no need to carry on this debate ad infinitum.