As everyone seems to know by now, Tiger Woods and Paddy Harrington were notified on the 16th tee by PGA Tour rules official John Paramor that they were being put on the clock for slow play.  The final pairing had fallen 18 minutes behind the group in front of them, which meant that there was an empty hole in front of them.  By PGA Tour rules, that meant that the pairing was playing too slow and would have to speed up - or risk a measly $5000 fine and a much more expensive penalty stroke.

The way that the hole played out may well have been influenced by Paramor placing the group on the clock, forcing them to finish the hole in a certain period of time.  Woods went on to stick his third shot to a foot.  Harrington - who said he felt rushed for the entire hole - later scalded his fourth shot from back of the green into the greenside pond.  It led to an eight, the end of the tournament, and Tiger's 70th PGA Tour win.

It infuraiated Woods, who called out Paramor in the press conference afterward.  Paramor was criticized to the point that the head of rules officials for the PGA Tour, Slugger White, had to come in and field some questions from the press.

The big question is whether or not the PGA Tour should have done this (1) to a final pairing angling to finish within CBS' broadcast window ending at 6pm, (2) to two of the best players in the world locked in a riveting duel that produced double the TV ratings from last year's Bridgestone Invitational, and (3) when the PGA Tour hasn't actually assessed a stroke penalty for slow play on Tour since 1992.

The answer is yes.  Put them on the clock.  Here's why.

Selective enforcement of the Rules of Golf is unacceptable.  Just because the final group had no chasers, were Tiger and Paddy, and were playing for a huge first prize check does not mean that the rules should be ignored.  Play slow and the players involved should be penalized. 

Timeliness is a part of golf, but many players seem to ignore that part of the rule book - including Woods and Harrington.  When the press questioned JB Holmes in 2008 about his lethargic manner around the course, Holmes best summed up the attitude of many players when he said, "``A lot of old habits kick in when you're under pressure. You're playing for $1 million. If somebody thinks I'm slow, or taking long, I don't care. ... I would rather be slow and win than rush something, hit a bad shot and not win.''

That kind of attitude is why players should be put on the clock.  They should not be allowed to disrespect the rules governing the sport just because of the money on the line.  Players should not get a free pass just because of their name.

As it is, golf has a negative reputation as a sport that takes too long to play.  It actually drives millions of golfers away from the sport who have little time to lollygag on the course while some weekend hack tries to mimic the preshot routine of their favorite pro - only to top it and then repeat the process. 

Incidents like this only seem to encourage slow amateurs and professionals.  Tiger Woods threw John Paramor under the bus for enforcing the rules of the game.  That's bogus.  Maybe the Tour should let the field carry fifteen clubs when Tiger is playing - could help them.  Why not go ahead and let the rank-and-file play with U grooves next season just to try to handicap Tiger a bit.  It's the same concept.

The issue here is selective enforcement.  As I mentioned, the PGA Tour has not docked a player on the scorecard for slow play for nearly two decades.  It seems like an awfully funny time to threaten enforcement of the rules now.  Perhaps if the Tour actually did something about slow play on a more frequent & visible basis, then this situation would not have been news at all.

Instead, it gives Tiger haters some more ammunition that the Tour wants Woods to win.  (Fact is, they do.)  They can say that Paddy would have won were he not put on the clock.  The truth is that Harrington hit an awful chip shot from a tough lie after Woods stuck it to a foot.  The pressure of Woods hitting his shot of the year was likely way bigger than some guy in a white shirt with a stopwatch sitting off of the green.  The pressure for Harrington was proving to himself that the swing changes were working, that he could believe in them for eighteen championship holes, and slide his way by the best golfer alive.

In the moment, what ticking do you think Harrington heard more in his head?  The ticking of Paramor's watch or the ticking of the clock on his window to win big tournaments with a peaking Tiger in his midst?