Could've been a bogey if he hadn't done his best Mickelson impression after his tee shot found the trees.
I was fortunate to be down at Quail Hollow yesterday and, although it was steamy (especially in those handful of times when the sun came out), the weather wasn't a factor at all. I was happy to have predicted, pre-round to the people who came with me, that I thought Justin Thomas would be your winner. I just had a feeling that his length would be a difference-maker on that course. Naturally, I could not have predicted the monkey-throw his tee shot on the 10th received (kicking it back into the fairway), or the hang-on-the-lip-for-ten-seconds-before-dropping-in putt he had on the 10th green. Or, for that matter, his chip-in birdie on 11 or his game-clinching birdie on 17.
Lots of fun but, man, that course was LONG.
"Amazing what a minute can do."
Agreed. They will probably go unnoticed, but in some ways the shots of the tournament could well have been JT's bogey-saving putt on the 1st (where he was in the fairway bunker off the tee, in the far-left greenside bunker after his second shot, in the short-right greenside bunker after his third shot, and about 15 feet away putting for bogey) and his birdie on the second. The wheels could really have come off if he had started the day with double-par (which would have put him at -3), instead of bogey-birdie (leaving him at -5).
"Amazing what a minute can do."
Just curious to hear from more serious golfers than I, and given the extensive discussion on the enforcement of the rules of golf in a recent thread about a future Dukie...
In the recent past we've seen the exceedingly strict enforcement of the rules cost players major championships (Lexi Thompson mis-replacing her ball on green by a fraction of an inch, Dustin Johnson's club touching sand in trap/waste area) and multiple other disruptions due to a TV watcher calling in. Tiger was affected numerous times, and these examples are just off the top of my head.
Supposedly Justin Thomas' putt is given 10 seconds to drop, but it took a few seconds more. Supposedly Jordan Spieth had 5 minutes to put his ball back in play (British Open), but took over 20 minutes. Why were these not enforced? Arguably they are easier to call than some of the extreme camera close-up/super slo-mo that is used to see a few grains of sand move or a couple of centimeters of displacement.
This is nothing against Thomas or Spieth, I'm just wondering. In the moment I was much more disturbed by the Spieth situation and how it might affect his playing partner Matt Kuchar, but Kuchar seemed to handle it ok and Spieth roared back. But then I started to think, that 20+ minutes sure gave Spieth time to compose himself.
Anyways, thoughts?
This article has a pretty good description of the R&A Rules in question in the Spieth situation on the 13th at Royal Birkdale last month. I'm quite confident the "five minutes" is the amount of time allotted for Spieth to find his ball, not get rulings and ultimately play his shot. Here's that text of the R&A Rule (27c):
c. Ball Not Found Within Five Minutes
If a ball is lost as a result of not being found or identified as his by the player within five minutes after the player's side or his or their caddies have begun to search for it, the player must play a ball, under penalty of one stroke, as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5).
As for JT, the text of the relevant USGA Rules are as follows:
16-2. Ball Overhanging Hole: When any part of the ball overhangs the lip of the hole, the player is allowed enough time to reach the hole without unreasonable delay and an additional ten seconds to determine whether the ball is at rest. If by then the ball has not fallen into the hole, it is deemed to be at rest. If the ball subsequently falls into the hole, the player is deemed to have holed out with his last stroke, and must add a penalty stroke to his score for the hole; otherwise, there is no penalty under this Rule.6-7. Undue Delay; Slow Play: The player must play without undue delay and in accordance with any pace of play guidelines that the Committee may establish. Between completion of a hole and playing from the next teeing ground, the player must not unduly delay play.
"Amazing what a minute can do."
Spieth, nor any other player, is on the clock while discussing the options available to him with an official. The five-minute rule is for finding a lost ball. Slow play can, of course, be penalized. Don't know the intracacies of the slow play rules, though.
By my unofficial 'one-thousand-and one...' count, it indeed took ten seconds before the ball finally dropped. I don't think anyone has ever been punished for waiting that long to putt a cliff-hanger.
I've been called out wrong in the recent past over my rules interpretations, so there's that!
Man, if your Mom made you wear that color when you were a baby, and you're still wearing it, it's time to grow up!
Much thanks to both, especially Tripping William for taking the time to find the relevant rules from the book. Clearly both players within their rights.
And that's why I frequent this board!
I cannot recall where I saw it (and now cannot find it), but I saw a replay clip of JT's putt where, as it hung on the lip, the announcer said (paraphrasing), "Walk away; take your time getting to the hole." I believe that's why: To give a bit of extra time before the 10-second-rule kicked in.
Separately, Nick Faldo's exchange with Verne Lundquist in calling that putt was awesome. As it goes in, Faldo says (quoting Verne's call when Tiger chipped in at the 16th at Augusta in the 2005 Master), "In your life have you ever seen anything like that, Verne?" Verne deadpans: "Well, yes, I have." Hilarious!
"Amazing what a minute can do."
"Amazing what a minute can do."
And, to beat a dead horse, it appears to me that the ball was ever-so-slightly moving for at least a couple seconds before it dropped. The line JT drew on the ball makes it easier to see. I think.
Man, if your Mom made you wear that color when you were a baby, and you're still wearing it, it's time to grow up!