Trial by television sees Graeme McDowell fall foul of ridiculous regulation
Northern Irishman upset after two-shot penalty on the 18th hole leaves him eight shots off the lead
Related articles
Mischief hinted at truth when Ernie Els suggested golf's Royal and Ancient custodians must have been on the gin when setting out Rule 18.2, which, on the opening day at the BMW PGA Championship placed Graeme McDowell at the centre of that classic golfing rumpus – the incomprehensible law infringement.
A bottle of mother's little helper was the minimum requirement to restore the equilibrium of McDowell, who was not the only victim of golf's regulatory intransigence in the matter of the moving ball. The other was the game itself, which, not for the first time, invited ridicule.
McDowell went from one under par to two over in the flick of a remote control after smashing his ball into the trees on the last. The drive was bad enough but nothing compared to the pain awaiting. His ball had come to rest on a bed of leaves and scrub on the edge of a thicket. McDowell had to part the branches to determine firstly that it was his ball at rest in the rubbish and secondly that it was playable.
On his way into the undergrowth, and from a distance he estimated to be 10 feet, he inadvertently caused his ball to move. This was not immediately apparent to him, but it was to the lay copper watching on TV. A call to Sky – how do they get through? – alerted the referee to McDowell's guilt before he even knew himself.
Meanwhile on the ground, McDowell was instructing caddie Ken Comboy to follow him into the bush to assess the options. McDowell considered taking a penalty-drop before deeming the ball playable. After hacking out he immediately sought on-course pundit Richard Boxall to determine via the Sky cameras if the ball had moved without detection by the naked eye and thus avoid signing for an incorrect score.
Replays revealed malpractice had indeed taken place. The ball had moved a fraction, estimated to be a third of a turn. McDowell was penalised one stroke for causing his ball to move and another for not replacing it. And thus a bogey six became a triple bogey eight. McDowell was understandably discomfited and under the nose of referee John Paramour poured out his frustration beside the scorer's hut.
"I was literally 10 feet away," he said. "Looking back, I'm not sure what I could have done. The ball was perched until I got 10 feet from it, and at that point it was too late. The rules are there for everyone's protection. But it's a harsh one.
"How are you supposed to attempt to place the ball when you are not sure it's moved in the first place?"
The high-definition camera has brought a new tyranny to the game. The omnipotent lens can spot the movement of a dimple from a thousand paces, and when prompted by a busy punter at home, wreaks havoc on the game. Lesser-profile golfers, playing without the microscopic intrusion of the long lens, would not have been held up to scrutiny in the same way.
That would not be an issue if the rules acquired the necessary elasticity to govern justly. How can it be right that a golfer should be penalised for inadvertently producing an outcome that could not have been otherwise? The rule is designed to protect against cheating, the knowing movement of a ball to gain an advantage.
McDowell could not have known that he had moved the ball since the eye has not evolved sufficiently to detect movement from that distance. Nor in the circumstances could he have avoided the outcome during the process of establishing the nature of the lie, which he is compelled to do.
His playing partner, Lee Westwood, was left shaking his head from the safety of the fairway. "I can't remember ever seeing anything like that. What else could he do? He had to go in after his ball. It does not seem right to punish a player because the ball moved when he was nowhere near it. What would happen if the ball moved as he was playing his shot?"
Paramour sympathised to a degree but stood foursquare behind the regulation. "The mistake Graeme made was not calling immediately for assistance from the referee. Had he done that he would have avoided the second penalty because we could have confirmed movement of the ball." McDowell eventually signed for a two-over 74, eight off the lead held by Peter Lawrie and David Drysdale, and the same as Rory McIlroy, who had troubles of his own on a day when his No 1 ranking weighed heavily.
After a run of three bogeys in four holes, McIlroy's sense of humour followed his ball out of bounds on the 12th. A pulled approach into the shrubbery was followed by a pushed provisional into a greenside bunker, at which point McIlroy launched his club violently across the fairway en route to a six.
"I struggled to get the pace of the greens today," McIlroy said. "A bit of déjà vu from last year. I kept getting off to good starts and making a few bogeys around the turn and not really getting any momentum back, and it was the exact same that happened today."
Justin Rose closed on five under, one better than playing partner, Luke Donald, and three ahead of Westwood.
Rule 18.2: How McDowell fell foul
The R&A Rules of Golf Rule 18: Ball at Rest Moved; [18-2] By Player, Partner, Caddie or Equipment
Except as permitted by the Rules, when a player's ball is in play, if the player, his partner or either caddie: causes the ball to move.
McDowell earned a further stroke penalty after failing to replace his ball when required to do so.
Sport blogs
iBet: A tight game between Northampton and Bradford
A tight game could be in prospect here. Northampton have been keeping things very tight of late and ...
by Gareth Purnell
18 May 2013 02:01 AM
On The Road at the Giro d’Italia: Feeling ill and racing in the rain must be pretty grim
I can’t ever watch games of football or rugby without wistfully wondering what it must be like to be...
by Martin Ayres
16 May 2013 05:10 PM
PSG and the French league must be more proactive in dealing with hooliganism
Since PSG’s exit to Barcelona in the Uefa Champions League quarter-final in April, PSG have been sur...
by Matthew Riding
15 May 2013 02:37 PM
-
Tears and cheers as David Beckham ends glittering career after helping PSG to final win
-
Video: Emotional David Beckham leaves the pitch for 'the last time' with PSG
-
Malaga manager Manuel Pellegrini has pedigree to be success story at Manchester City
-
Tottenham face nail-biting finish as Arsenal look to secure Champions League place on final day of the Premier League season
-
Boxing: Carl Froch slams fellow Brits for sparring with Mikkel Kessler
- 1 Heading for America? Prepare for the longest US immigration queues ever
- 2 Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?
- 3 You thought Ryanair's attendants had it bad? Wait 'til you hear about their pilots
- 4 'Swivel-gate': David Cameron at war with press over 'swivel-eyed loons' slur
- 5 It’s official: thanks to Stephen Hawking's Israel boycott, anti-Semitism is no more
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
The price of pacifism
Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond
Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?
Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'
Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes
Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save




Comments