Lexi Thompson's 4 Stroke Penalty at the ANA

[rehmwa]

14 minutes ago, zero said:

leave out how they became aware. It doesn't matter how and it just makes them look bad if it comes from a fan.

YES!!!!

[boogielicious]

34 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

and I'd suggest he also run it as follows:

1 - walk up directly behind the ball and place the mark and, then stay lined up directly on the same heading and replace the ball - do this 1,000,000 times.

2 - then, walk up sideways to the ball, mark it, and then shift to inline and replace it.  no reps just on the first try.  While your pants are on fire, and you are nervous and out of breath, with thousands of people watching and yelling BABABOOEY

 

Frankly, I'm amazed that anyone catches anything, there's not a lot of video to review in the first place amongst the commercials, more commercials, some additional commercials, commentary, and host chatter....

And your point is?

[Shorty]

1 hour ago, hcopenhagenh said:

 

Lexi did not cheat and deserved Zero Penalty strokes.  

The evidence tends to suggest the opposite.

[MrDC]

This isn't the first time we've seen this move on the LPGA, Chella Choi pulled it last year and DQ'ed herself over it in protest.

So I wonder if this little marker move to improve the lie on the greens, no matter how silly it seems, is some kind of accepted practice among the ladies.

I also wonder if there aren't many pros who are applauding the call and not saying anything, because of fear of being demonized over it, because what it comes down to is one players violation means anothers missed dollars, so I would think every pro would want to keep the game closely watched by viewers. Can't be done by officials.

Edited April 4, 2017 by MrDC

[nevets88]

Haven't been able to find video past the point where she marks the ball a second time. It has no bearing on the controversy, I'm just curious if she picked up and placed the ball again after the second mark? The videos I found cut out after she places down the mark again.

[rehmwa]

13 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

And your point is?

televised golf is full of commercials and not much golf (seriously, if I'm flipping back and forth between regular shows and a tournament, I might hit the tournament 1 time of 5, the other 4 being commercials, on inane golf channel frippery.  Anyone wading through that morass to find a violation of any kind deserves a prize)

of course

 

(if you are referencing the first bit, just that doing anything outside of a well ingrained process is not so simple, especially under the stress of professional sports, which our armchair perfect quarterbacks really can't understand)

Edited April 4, 2017 by rehmwa

[iacas]

10 minutes ago, MrDC said:

This isn't the first time we've seen this move on the LPGA, Chella Choi pulled it last year and DQ'ed herself over it in protest.

Actually, she withdrew and did not accept her disqualification. Minor and off-topic point.

[nevets88]

Probably due to the nature of golf, we zone out and go second and/or third screen when stuff like marking balls and putting happens. I would have missed it but if someone said look again, without slow motion, I would definitely notice the ball in a different spot, especially nowadays with 4K,HD and huge screens. I'm coming to this late, but this viral'd into celebrity channel feeds, never would I have thunk putting minutiae would get into TMZ.

[Lastpick]

28 minutes ago, Shorty said:

The evidence tends to suggest the opposite.

I have watched the video and it is inconclusive.  I think she did not exactly remark her ball,  but the video is inconclusive and thus the penalty was in error.  

[iacas]

1 minute ago, Lastpick said:

I have watched the video and it is inconclusive.  I think she did not exactly remark her ball,  but the video is inconclusive and thus the penalty was in error.  

It really isn't inconclusive at all. The ball moved at least 0.7".

Seriously, almost nobody thinks she didn't play from a wrong place.

[Lihu]

2 minutes ago, Lastpick said:

I have watched the video and it is inconclusive.  I think she did not exactly remark her ball,  but the video is inconclusive and thus the penalty was in error.  

Sure, go ahead and add another 1000 posts to this thread. . .see if I care.

 

[1badbadger]

3 hours ago, gregsandiego said:

Have you ever played with someone that wants the marker out of the way and uses a club on the ground to offset it? 

BTW do these markers interfere with the roll if they are hit?

 

3 hours ago, 1badbadger said:

Yes, if a ball hits a ball marker it can kick it off line.

 

2 hours ago, gregsandiego said:

How do the pros handle this? I've always been asked to offset my marker by amateurs.

 

2 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

The pros do it the same way most of us amateurs do, hopefully with more care than an average amateur.  Place the mark immediately behind the ball (or other specific location), then use a putterhead aligned with a specific reference point to offset the mark.  Reverse the process when replacing the ball.

 

This is one of the most common mistakes I see players make...they don't mark their ball first, then move the ball mark a putter-head to the side.  They leave the ball on the green, place their putter next to it, and either place their mark on the other side of the putter, or move the ball to the other side of the putter, then mark it.

Always mark the ball first like Dave mentioned, then move the mark!

[MrDC]

She didn't line up the mark on the ball, nor the logo, nor did she step behind the ball to line up the putt, all things every golfer does when lifting, is a clear indication of a questionable move on her part, why touch the ball at all? very sketchy, the only reason I can see is to move the ball over 1", which is what she did.

[RH31]

3 hours ago, RH31 said:

I'm not against the truth, I'm against The TV public having any kind of control over the out come of a tournament. The problem is the truth can't be fairly determined and the consequences fairly presented under the current rules.

3 hours ago, iacas said:

How do you feel that the last sentence is at all accurate? The committee took evidence into account and ruled - correctly - that she played from a wrong place. That was closer to the truth than "she did nothing wrong and did not breach the rules."

 

To clarify, I'm not trying to say they there was no rules infraction.

I'm saying that under the current guidelines, if the same infraction were to occur in the final round and officials were notified and couldn't/wouldn't rule on the infraction before the tournament is deemed "over", then the punishment one receives for a 1st, 2nd or 3rd round infraction is obviously greater than no penalty for a 4th round infraction. So the same infraction, committed later in the tournament, could be "allowed". Not good. 

[JxQx]

Kind of a random question, Is there a rules official on site that is watching the live broadcast for any rules infractions? Could this have stopped this late penalty from happening?

[Shorty]

20 minutes ago, Lastpick said:

I have watched the video and it is inconclusive.  I think she did not exactly remark her ball,  but the video is inconclusive and thus the penalty was in error.  

Are you serious? - she remarked her ball almost an inch. This is not "opinion" this is verifiable fact by simply observing the video. The penalty, although bad for her is entirely justifiable. In fact, she's probably lucky not to have been sanctioned for cheating. The upside is that you might not see too much of this in the future.

 

[HitAndGiggle]

4 hours ago, Lihu said:

 

There's a strange dichotomy in your two joined sentences. On the one hand you think it's a joke to call in the infraction, and yet on the other you are using it as a lesson for your son.

I have to ask, "What lesson are you planning on teaching your son?"

There's no dichotomy. My lesson to my boy would be to pay very close attention to the rules because anybody can call you on this...be it your opponent's dad, whatever. And, I don't see a problem with not enjoying the way this went down. I thought it stunk. She gained no advantage from that small blip, obviously didn't even remember it - yet it cost her. What's to like about that? Like I said...I'm avoiding this thread (fingers over eyes "lalalalala...") until I can watch the rest tonight. But, I can imagine by the length of this thread that this topic is creating a major poop storm among our members here. No need to rip each other over it, honestly. It is what it is. Some may say they're glad she got dinged. So be it. Everybody can have their own take. The game goes on, baby.

Oh, and one more thing. I have a strange crush on Suzann Pettersen. There...I said it.

[Shorty]

13 minutes ago, 1badbadger said:

 

 

 

This is one of the most common mistakes I see players make...they don't mark their ball first, then move the ball mark a putter-head to the side.  They leave the ball on the green, place their putter next to it, and either place their mark on the other side of the putter, or move the ball to the other side of the putter, then mark it.

 

Always mark the ball first like Dave mentioned, then move the mark!

Make sure you line the putter up with a tree or object somewhere off the green. Otherwise a whole new can of worms gets opened