Camillo Villegas learned Rule 23-1 the hard way today at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Yesterday, during the first round and on the 15th hole, Villegas was attempting a pitch and up up a steep slope (for the second time) and when the ball started rolling back down toward where he had just played from, he flicked away a piece of a divot, a loose impediment, with his club. From the USGA Rules of Golf, under Rule 23-1: "when a ball is in motion, a loose impediment that might influence the movement of the ball must not be removed." A TV viewer notified the PGA Tour (I always wonder how they do this, is there a "rules hotline" for the Tour?)
Villegas was notified by Tour officials when he arrived for his 2nd round today in the first PGA Tournament of 2011, at Kapalua's Plantation Course on the island of Maui. The penalty is only 1 stroke, but since it was not applied before Villegas signed his score card yesterday, the penalty became a DQ for signing an incorrect score card.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
