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You have to keep on the same line that the ball entered the hazard. So in this instance, the ball entered the hazard after hitting the flagstick and rolling back into the hazard on the far left side of the green. Therefore Tiger had the option to play as far back as he wanted to, but it had to be on the line formed by the point the ball entered the hazard and the flagstick (which would have been on the far left side of hole, probably not even in play, not where his original ball lied on the right.

Again I ask you since you haven't answered, what part of Tiger's rule infraction could not have been reasonably discovered prior to Tiger signing his scorecard? That's the qualification for invoking rule 33-7. He broke arguably the most basic rule in golf.

In other news Scott Piercy has made a nice move after starting +3 on the first three holes of the tournament. He's now down to -1 and moving. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in the mix on Sunday afternoon.

It doesn't matter if he intended to break the rule or not. The rules don't only apply when you know you're breaking them. If that were the case I would just never learn the rules and play however I wanted to. Also the rule was adjusted in 2011 to make sure a DQ isn't given out for a rules violation that you could not reasonably discover prior to signing your card. Nothing about this situation is something that couldn't have been discovered prior to TW signing his card. The penalty is/would be the right decision, if and ONLY IF, Tiger brought the infraction up with the committee for review, and they had given him the okay prior to him signing his card. If that is the case, then the penalty is the right call. ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCE, including this hypothetical argument of if he had brought it up they would have given him the okay anyways is irrelevant, the correct ruling is automatic DQ. It's pretty black and white. As Nick Faldo said earlier, yesterday they took a gray area rule and made it black and white with Guan's slow play penalty, and took a black and white rule and made it a gray area with Tiger's ruling.

I've been wondering that as well. But I'm just ****ing blind so what do I know.

When did Tiger ask the officials about this ruling? It wasn't done while on the course, and I'm still waiting to see anything that says that he brought it up prior to signing his card?

Official Statement for Reference: "Yesterday afternoon, the Rules Committee was made aware of a possible Rules violation that involved a drop by Tiger Woods on the 15th hole. "In preparation for his fifth shot, the player dropped his ball in close proximity to where he had played his third shot in apparent conformance with Rule 26. After being prompted by a television viewer, the Rules Committee reviewed a video of the shot while he was playing the 18th hole. At that moment and based on that evidence, the Committee determined he had complied with the Rules. "After he signed his scorecard, and in a television interview subsequent to the round, the player stated that he played further from the point than where he had played his third shot. Such action would constitute playing from the wrong place. "The subsequent information provided by the player's interview after he had completed play warranted further review and discussion with him this morning. After meeting with the player, it was determined that he had violated Rule 26, and he was assessed a two stroke penalty. The penalty of disqualification was waived by the Committee under Rule 33 as the Committee had previously reviewed the information and made its initial determination prior to the finish of the player's round." Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/13/5339165/augusta-national-statement-on.html#storylink=cpy

Are you ****ing blind??? Can you not ****ing read???? Don't bother telling some of these people that the official statement actually says that the rules committee reviewed it initially WHILE TIGER WAS STILL PLAYING.

There is always a rules official available if you request one. Tiger didn't request one, that is on Tiger.

I was asking where you had received this info. But thanks for being classy. Also I read the letter. NOWHERE DOES IT STATE THAT THE RULES INFRACTION CAME UP IN DISCUSSION WITH TIGER PRIOR TO HIM SIGNING HIS CARD. You seem to be reading between the lines. It simply states that a viewer brought up the situation, the committee reviewed it and determined that there was no infraction. Then after the interview (post scorecard signing) they reviewed again and determined there was an infraction. Why I asked the question in my initial post is because the onus is on the PLAYER to ensure his scorecard is correct. It's not up to the viewers, it's not up the rule committee. Nowhere have I seen any indication that Tiger brought it up to the rules committee and was told he was okay prior to signing his card. If he did do that, then the penalty is the correct call. However, just because it was brought to the committee's attention and they determined it to be okay doesn't mean that Tiger is in the clear if he never brought it up himself. Again the onus is on the player to ensure their scorecard is correct, not the rules committee or anyone else. That's the key to this whole thing. Now I'll just go back to being ****ing blind I guess...

You believe based on what? Did you hear this from a source or are you speculating? If he was informed everything was okay then it's hard to argue with the 2 stroke penalty. However, if Tiger came in and the situation was never brought up and he signed his card he should be DQ'd

Agreed. I haven't heard one way or the other on this. Remember the onus is on the player to verify their scorecard prior to signing. It's not the committees responsibility to bring it to the player's attention.

Wrong. "This revision to Decision 33-7/4.5 addresses the situation where a player is not aware he has breached a Rule because of facts that he did not know and could not reasonably have discovered prior to returning his score card ." You're saying he wasn't aware he broke the rule. That's fine. However what were the facts that he did not know and could not reasonably have discovered prior to signing his score card? Please elaborate, I'm anxious to hear your explanation.

He broke a very common rule (unknowingly or not doesn't matter happens all the time on tour). He could have clarified prior to signing his card. Once you sign an incorrect card you are DQ'd. EOS

From Link above: "This revision to Decision 33-7/4.5 addresses the situation where a player is not aware he has breached a Rule b ecause of facts that he did not know and could not reasonably have discovered prior to returning his score card. " The bolded part is the problem with this ruling. It isn't some miniscule breach of the rules. And he could have easily figured this out prior to signing his card. Once he said his card it's over. He's DQ'd end of story.

It's both. The ruling is pathetic as it was made just to keep the biggest name on the course. If this was Brendan Grace, HE GONE! The reason that TW is getting flack is because despite what the committee does, he can do the right thing and DQ himself. It's the right thing to do. He has a chance to get a lot of respect, or completely lose it as well.

We might as well get rid of all the rules then if we're going to pick and choose when/how to enforce them. There is no possible explanation for how Tiger could not have clarified this situation PRIOR TO SIGNING HIS SCORECARD. Signing an incorrect scorecard is automatic DQ.

It's a common rule. Pretty much every tournament players deal with this rule. It's not some obscure situation. He openly admitted breaking the rule, then signed his scorecard. I don't think he did it intentionally, but intent doesn't matter. He broke the rules, didn't assess a penalty, and signed for an incorrect scorecard. Did Dustin Johnson gain an advantage by grounding his club at the PGA? Of course not, but the rules are rules. If you pick and choose when to enforce them, they are worthless.

This is exactly right. This isn't the first time this has happened on tour. And nobody intentionally cheats or breaks rules. Dustin Johnson lost the PGA because of a rule infraction by not treating a waste bunker where the gallery was standing as a bunker and grounded his club. Essentially every rules violation is an oversight or a mistake, professional golfers don't intentionally cheat, but that doesn't/shouldn't change the punishment for doing so.

It's pretty disgusting that the rule committee gave him a pass because he's Tiger. I'm not sure how 33-7 could apply when he openly admitted in the post round interview, that he moved the ball back two yards for the second approach shot. Tiger has a chance to gain a lot of respect, or completely lose it. It's up to him to do the right thing and disqualify himself.

Your man crush is showing... You're bashing two former golf professionals who have both played more rounds than you and I combined. Tiger clearly violated the rules, that we can agree on. There is a pretty clear precedent on tour of situations such as this that players will DQ themselves out of respect for the game. If anything you should be disgusted that Tiger is getting a free pass because he's the PGA Tour's golden goose. Perhaps you'll disagree with Faldo and Chamblee, but they certainly aren't BASHING Tiger, they're just stating they're opinion on the subject.

1. Matt Kuchar -12 2. Scott Piercy -12 3. Patrick Cantlay -12

There are a lot of nice golf resorts in Northern MI. IMO the best two are Treetops in Gaylord and Boyne (Highlands) with an edge to Boyne. Pros and Cons of each: Treetops Pros Nice set of courses at the resort and another 5-6 nice courses within 30-45 minute drive (Elk Ridge, Wilderness Valley, Garland, etc. Also Forest Dunes is about an hour or so away) Arguably the best teaching pro in the entire country in Ric Smith is the pro (and owner) Courses are managed well and in good shape Lots of elevation changes which makes for great views, especially in the fall Threetops course is fun to play (Also used to be the site of the Par 3 challenge back in the 90s with Mickelson Trevino, etc. playing it) Cons Gaylord is kind of a boring town Lodging isn't the best (not bad but just not 5 star) The courses are all nice, but none of them are an "experience" Boyne Pros 11 courses to choose from including 27 holes at Bay Harbor Can get great package deals ($100 per night for unlimited golf, breakfast, and room) Lots of good tracks and variety (Heather, Arthur Hills, Hidden River, Donald Ross Memorial which is a reproduction of 18 of his most famous holes) Bay Harbor is one of the best public tracks in the country and gives you that "wow" factor There are some very nice accommodations,especially for groups where you can get cottages. Other nice courses in the area to play (True North if you can get on and Belvedere in Charlevoix) Lots of things to do in Petoskey and Harbor Springs like the casino, bars, restaurants, shopping, etc. and the area is really nice Cons The courses aren't all in one spot, Bay Harbor and Crooked Tree are 10 minutes West of town, Boyne Mountain is 20 min South of town, and Boyne Highlands is on the other side of the bay. None of the drives are that far, but they're not all right on site. Can get pretty backed up on weekends. All in all they're both nice resorts, but if you're looking for something more than pure golf or are looking to take a longer trip Boyne wins hands down with the volume of courses, and the fact that the area of Harbor Springs and Petoskey are much nicer than Gaylord with a lot more to do in terms of non-golf activities.

I've played it several times. (In fact it's my avatar). It's a beautiful course and facility, and you have awesome views throughout the course. It's a tough course to play, especially if the wind is strong coming off the lake. When the wind is really blowing, it takes a while to get dialed in on the club adjustments. Playing a lot of knockdowns helps, but you still have to deal with it. You'll love the course. It's on par with anything in the country and certainly one of the best public tracks in the Midwest. I play it at least once a year, and it's always a treat.

I think that one thing really impacting the LPGA tour right now is the influx of Asian players. While the quality of golf is as good as ever, it's simply harder for fans to connect with a foreign player who speaks very little english or in some cases, none at all. Golf fans like to be able to sort of "connect" with golfers. Golfers with "personality" tend to be more popular and bring more fans to the game. It's simply harder to make that connection, when the majority of the top golfers are from foreign, non-english speaking countries. As I said, the quality of golf on the LPGA is probably better than it's ever been, but IMO this is a big issue, and one of the reasons why the LPGA struggles to get more attention. I think the tour would be well served to set up some sort of program to help foreign players transition to the US and help bridge that communication gap that is preventing fans from being able to make that connection.