Woody's "Non-Putt"?

[jfieldberg]

i think woody was definitely making an attempt at the ball. There is no way that he meant to stop the putter that close to the ball, but it's woody's word in the end and we will never know the real answer

[flash]

as a matter of 'fact' the player may declare the ball lost and sorry ...but its lost. look it up!

[iacas]

as a matter of 'fact' the player may declare the ball lost and sorry ...but its lost. look it up!

Wrong.

Source: USGA Definitions Lost Ball A ball is deemed "lost" if:

1. It is not found or identified as his by the player within five minutes after the player’s side or his or their caddies have begun to search for it; or
2. The player has made a stroke at a substituted ball; or
3. The player has made a stroke at a provisional ball from the place where the original ball is likely to be or from a point nearer the hole than that place.

Time spent in playing a wrong ball is not counted in the five-minute period allowed for search.

Nowhere in the definition (or the rule - 27-1) does it say a player may simply declare his ball lost. And there are decisions re: opponents finding a ball and the player being given time to come over to identify it, along with the over-riding rule about playing the game with honesty (i.e. you can't just lie and say "nope, not my ball.").