Sarah Brown & Her Dad Are Making Some Hefty Demands of the Futures Tour
by Ryan Ballengee on Jul 28, 2010 4:49 PM EDT
in Pro Golf
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PrintThere is no disputing that the Duramed Futures Tour and its rules officials Jim Linyard and Kelly Wergin committed a big mistake when they disqualified 18 year old Sarah Brown in the midst of her final round of last weekend's event in New Hampshire. Not only was the wedge in question that officials incorrectly determined nonconforming, but Brown was pulled off of the course instead of waiting until play ended to make the call.
Futures Tour CEO Zayra Calderon called to apologize, and LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan may have also. And everyone seems to agree that there has to be some kind of compensation for the boo-boo. But what Sarah Brown's dad is asking for might be a little over the top.
- $5,638, the amount Sarah Brown would’ve earned had she finished The International at Concord at 8-under 208. She was 3 under par for the event when she was removed from the golf course with nine holes remaining.
- A waiver of the entry fee to 2010 LPGA Q-School, a $5,000 value. Brown advanced to the finals last year, finishing 84th.
- An annual seminar for Duramed Futures Tour rules official outlining how to handle difficult situations. "I’d like it to be called the Sarah Brown Seminar," Keith Brown said.
The Futures Tour has offered $2000. Mr. Brown says he's got some lawyers who have come forward to sue the DFT - just what they need - if his demands aren't met.
Using a simile in the creative, but apparently violent, style of Mr. Brown: that's like getting tripped by mistake and retaliating with a sawed off shotgun at point blank range.
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Now THERE'S a dad teaching his daughter good lessons...
…if there is ever an accident – SUE !
How the he…ck…did he arrive at the 8 under figure ? She was 3 under through 9 and had managed to average 4 under on the back 9 the first two days. Now she gets an extra stroke removed for pity ?
This man – her father – is an ass. She’s an 18 year old kid with a lot of lessons to learn – and hard knocks make up a lot of them. Now he sees a chance to cash in a little bit and he’s going to push it as far as he can.
Give her the entry into Q-school and I’ll be hoping she finishes DFL in the first stage. This mistake…MISTAKE…as bad as it was, has nothing to do with Q-school.
A seminar on how to handle difficult situations ?? Good lord. The official screwed up. A HORRIBLE lapse of judgement – during a season when groove rules are confusing. Yes – teach them better skills – but if an official misreads the USGA web site – how is all that “training” going to change anything ? He thought he was right.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Sorry Court ol buddy...
yur way off the mark here…I said in another post on this subject, that law suits were just around the corner….Can’t blame her dad for grabbing everything he can….Hell….isn’t this why Political correctness was invented….And of course those suits that came forward to do the suing have to get their one third….add it up….hefty figures…..Personally, I would have opted to get 4=5 free entry fees plus the extra training on how exactly not to get your arse sued the next time aroun….but, all in all, ya gotta love the American way…..SUE THE BASTITCHES…..STUB
oh yeah ? well just because you’re right doesn’t mean you’re right !! (or something like that) :-)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Court, seriously, it really is a sad
example of our society as a whole these days….You can sue anybody, for anything, at anytime….and believe me, there are people who use that to make good money just because it’s cheaper to settle, than to fight…..They’ve been trying for along time to figgure out how to stop it, but until they decide to kill all the lawyers….it’s gonna go on…..STUB
Wendy will like this one...
From Fredrick Bastiat’s “The Law” – “The law has…has acted in direct opposition to its own purpose. The law has been used to destroy its own objective: It has been applied to annihilating the justice that it was supposed to maintain; to limiting and destroying rights which its real purpose was to respect. The law has placed the collective force at the disposal of the unscrupulous who wish, without risk, to exploit the person, liberty, and property of others. It has converted plunder into a right, in order to protect plunder. And it has converted lawful defense into a crime, in order to punish lawful defense.”
Check this out from Golf-Patents.com. It even has David Dawsey dumbounded…
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Now Now, don't
denigrate asses….theys a lot of um ya unnerstan…..STUB
I like think of them as work of art.
Yeah, I am a guy. I can’t help it.
by Charles Boyer on Jul 30, 2010 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions
My sister works
for a law firm and sent this to me last night. This is one of the best of several..
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No..
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
Sooooo, I'm waiting.....was he dead or alive????.........lol
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
One more..
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid
Yep. I’m one step removed from a lawyer – I’m a golf pro. The good news is though, that none of my clubs are conforming.
No problem.......your jokes are not confoming either.......:)
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
But I’m female and blonde – sometimes, so I can get away with it. I love this PC stuff, it’s so liberating!
Female?? Blond??.......Stay away from Tiger.........
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
OK C&P...what is it...
sometimes your a girl? an sometimes your blonde?…..my wife used to be blonde sometimes too……STUB
I suppose someone here understands that asking for way more than you could ever get as a starting point in negotiations is the way things are done? Mr. Brown and his attorney know they’ll never get any of that, but they’ll probably get more than if they’d told the Tour, “We don’t care, give us whatever you think is fair.”
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
Exactly.
The settlement will come in somewhere between the $2,000 and the ludicrous demands that Mr. Brown is making.
I would think that giving her credit on the money list for her position at the time of the DQ – but not actual cash, plus a waiver of entry fees for a FT tournament of their choosing would be fair.
In response, I would expect the FT to include a waiver of claims for any similar events in the future.
by Charles Boyer on Jul 29, 2010 8:33 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m starting to wonder about the daughter. Is she embarrassed the way her dad is acting ? Are his actions, using this situation as a bargaining chip, going to cause problems between her and the other players on the Tour ?
The man is less concerned with fixing the problem than he is getting exorbitant “rewards” for an honest mistake. She was ranked outside the top 90 before the tournament, so this potentially good finish would be a big help, but not to the point that she was going to get into the top 10 for a card.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Good question.
I still think DM is correct that this is a bargaining ploy, albeit a very clumsy and bumbling one.
by Charles Boyer on Jul 29, 2010 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree that he is overreacting,
but the “honest” mistake was determining that the club was non-conforming, the real “sue-able” offense was DQ’ing her and not letting her finish the round……UNLESS that is the proper procedure for this situation, then they will sue for just the honest mistake. Either way, money will be paid, and procedures will be re-evaluated.
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
That’s what I have a big problem with this. I’ve never heard of someone being DQ’ed mid round and literally being dragged off the golf course. This was an LPGA official, so the LPGA have opened this can of worms and as per usual, the lawyers have taken charge. Maybe Dad is not such as arse after all. I would give my vote to lawyers every time.
by chip n'putt on Jul 29, 2010 10:04 AM EDT up reply actions
It IS the proper procedure. If you are caught playing with an illegal club – you’re gone on the spot.
The problem was that the officials had about 2 hours to research the club on the USGA site – something that takes less than 5 minutes to do – then stopped play at the turn to look again – and still got it wrong when it is pretty plain on the USGA conforming clubs list which clubs are which.(unless the USGA had changed the listing since Sunday – which is kind of doubtful) He just read it wrong – of course, she was standing right there with dear ol’ dad and they didn’t see it either.
The reason you don’t see things like this often is that the problems usually don’t come up until after a round. It has happened before, but the last time I remember it was back when drivers were deemed non-conforming for the “trampoline effect” and someone would get caught using a non-conforming club. It’s almost unheard of on the professional circuit because those players generally know their equipment better.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I was under the impression that they only true way to check to see if the groves were conforming, was to have them measured. You can have non conforming clubs that have been “re grooved”. It’s not the club itself, it’s the grooves and they can be altered. No?
by chip n'putt on Jul 29, 2010 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions
you’ve never seen regrooved clubs ? Pretty easy to tell from manufactured grooves. All scratched up and uneven.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
But I can spot a fake Calaway at 20 paces. So I have that going for me!
by chip n'putt on Jul 29, 2010 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Able to spot the missing L in Callaway
from 20 paces is quite impressive. (J/K)
Clever boy!!
The Chinese never could understand the reason for putting two in there when one was sufficient.
by chip n'putt on Jul 29, 2010 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions
It’s the Tailor Made that messes them up.
by chip n'putt on Jul 29, 2010 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions
Is a fake Calaway or Tailer Made going to be worse than a fake Callaway or Taylormade ? :-)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Don’t look at me, I’m dyslexic and yes I realise that!
by chip n'putt on Jul 29, 2010 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions
I think it’s pretty sad that this is the norm these days. Scream blue bloody murder and then sue. I doubt the other girls will be overly fussed, as they would in all likely hood be doing the same thing put in the same position. I wonder though, how the parents of the girl that started all the fuss are feeling right now. I imagine that, that girl is the one under the hammer right now.
Exactly.
Just what the sports world needs, another helicopter parent.
Seems like those players always struggle eventually, on or off the court/field/pitch/course somewhere.
by Charles Boyer on Jul 29, 2010 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions
whether this is an opening negotiating move or not...
…it seems to me like her dad is willing to risk burning bridges for the rest of her professional career.
Since she wrongfully wasn’t allowed to finish the round, she deserves to have her entry fee refunded. But the argument that she would have shot this or that is purely speculative. She didn’t finish, so she shouldn’t get any winnings. However, she deserves some compensation for that. Since she lost the chance to perhaps (or perhaps not) finish high on the money list that week, she should get free entry into the remaining tournaments. She has to play her way up the FT money list and earn a spot in LPGA Q-School. I don’t see what getting wrongfully DQed at a FT event has to do with getting a free pass into LPGA Q-School.
That’s why $2500 seems fair to me.
by The Constructivist on Jul 29, 2010 9:54 AM EDT reply actions
Her father is being an over-protective idiot, because instead of playing victim, he’s playing a-hole. People feel sorry for folks who have been wronged, but not at all for people who have been wronged and act like an a-ho about it.
I would greatly admire Sarah Brown if she just told her Daddy to shut the hell up.
by Charles Boyer on Jul 29, 2010 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions
The DFT gets 15 exemptions based on the money list, but this wouldn’t be one – it seems like it would be the DFT “paying” her way into Q-school. I’ve been looking around and don’t see how they determine who gets the exemptions. Some of the girls who got a card from their DFT finish have gone to Q-school hoping to raise their status. So do they start with #1 and just ask if they want in or just start at #6 ? Or is it 10-25 who are just given the exemptions ?
Are you saying $2500 cash is fair to you ? Or are you putting some of that into her official money and $500 cash refund from that tournament ? $2000 would only move her to top 75 on the money list – a very long way from anything significant.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
no no no
None of the $2500 I’m talking about would count as official money. It’s just a refund and free entry into the last 4 tournaments. She didn’t finish, wrongfully or not, so she earned no money. Don’t go messing with the money list when it comes to compensation.
by The Constructivist on Jul 29, 2010 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions
on how many free passes players get into LPGA Q-School from the FT....
I thought it was 10, for #6 through #15 on the money list, but I haven’t looked at this in a while. If she plays her way into the top 15 after all this, more power to her. But there’s no shortcuts to making it onto the LPGA, even when an official makes a big mistake.
by The Constructivist on Jul 29, 2010 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions
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