They're Not Booing, They're Saying "Boooooooo"

by Mulligan Stu on Mar 17, 2007 8:14 PM EDT Comment 0 comments

As in Boo Weekley. But any booing that might be going on is directed not in Boo's direction, but in the direction of rules officials everywhere.

Yes, the rules official was just doing his job, but sometimes, it's a dirty job.

What's the deal? Here's the deal: Boo Weekley, displaying great sportsmanship in the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday, corrected a mistake by his fellow-competitor and that player's caddie, saving that fellow-competitor - Tom Johnson - a 2-stroke penalty. But in so doing, Weekley incurred a 2-stroke penalty on himself:

Tom Johnson hit to the right side of the green on the par-3 second hole, some 85 feet away from the flag. Because of the steep slope on the green and the back-left hole location, his best chance was to chip off the putting surface onto the fringe and have the ball trickle down toward the cup.

"I spaced out and forgot to tell my caddie to tend the pin," Johnson said. "I thought it was a great act of sportsmanship."

Johnson's chip came off perfectly, landing on the fringe and rolling toward the flag. Weekley knew that if the ball struck the pin while it was still in the hole, it would be a two-shot penalty against him.

"I ran over and pulled the pin out," he said.

So what's the problem? The problem is Rule 17-2 (Unauthorized Attendance):

If an opponent or his caddie in match play or a fellow-competitor or his caddie in stroke play, without the player's authority or prior knowledge, attends, removes or holds up the flagstick during the stroke or while the ball is in motion, and the act might influence the movement of the ball, the opponent or fellow-competitor incurs the applicable penalty.

And the applicable penalty in stroke play is two strokes.

A spectator at the hole alerted a rules official, who spoke to Weekley and Johnson following their rounds (before they signed their scorecards). Johnson and Weekley acknowledged that Johnson had not asked Weekley to pull the pin, so the penalty was enforced.