Lexi Thompson Assessed 4 Stroke Penalty. Loses Championship in Playoff!

TonyJesselli

Lexi Thompson was informed that she received a four stroke penalty as she walked off the 12th hole on Sunday at the ANA Inspiration.

An email was received by LPGA officials from a viewer about a possible rules infraction during the third round.

http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2017/04/lexi-thompson-receives-4-stroke-penalty.html

rynobucket

Email/call-in infractions have to come to an end, this is getting out of hand.

ode

An email.....what's next is likely tweeting it.

PA-PLAYA

This is precisely why a lot of people decide to take up another pastime besides golf. As if the challenge of learning how to hit the ball decently well isn't enough, they see it as far too frustratingly penal too.

And sometimes it most certainly is.

Ack8236

If you think about it, when you mark and replace your ball, is it ever in the EXACT place it was? Maybe I should send an email that almost all the putts shown were .00001 inch off. I agree, end these call-in infractions.

mikeintopeka

I saw a player block a shot, in a recent basketball game during The Sweet 16, by reaching thru the net/rim. What if I called it in to CBS when goaltending wasn't called. They'd laugh.

The USGA bent over.

MidwayJ

There should be no incorrect scorecard penalty when the sole reason for the incorrect scorecard is an infraction resulting in a 2-stroke penalty. Four strokes is way too punitive.

mikeintopeka

Let's reverse the players and play "what if". Ryu is the player that Joe Jerk calls in the infraction from home THE NEXT DAY. She is penalized the 4 shots and falls 2 strokes off the lead. Lexi, an American, eventually wins the tournament.

How does that look and play out in the wide world of golf?

MartinD

This is a messy situation that Thompson could have avoided with the care she should be taking as a professional golfer who knows that what she does is being recorded - it's obvious from the video that she did put the ball back in a different place, even if there was apparently no real advantage gained. That said, the LPGA were in a difficult position - my understanding is that they were not made aware of the possible infraction until Thomson had started her final round, so they either had to do what they did, or let her get away with it. (How would other players have reacted if Thomson was not penalised, then had won by less than the penalty she would have taken?)

(For what it's worth, it could have been worse - it's not all that long ago that something like this would have resulted in disqualification for signing an incorrect scorecard!)

Sneakylong

Allowing people to call in infractions from home is ridiculous enough. Allowing it a day later is even more absurd. And because it can't be monitored equitably simply because you can't have TV cover every shot every player makes it's even more unfair.

Also, 99.9% of these infractions are unintentional meaning there is no intent to cheat and gain an advantage. Will they ever get this right? Again, the rules of golf should fit on one piece of paper. Until they get rid of all these page 81, rule b9, subset 5a, paragraph 2, line 16 then these type ridiculous issues will keep happening.

They seem like they are unwilling to get out of their own way.

Coppertop

USGA email account should be set to bounce emails back from the first tee time on Thursday to tournament conclusion, as well as the phone lines.

Can't disagree with Mart, but if it's a case of no advantage taken, then why penalise? Yes this is the womans profession and she should take better care, but if it isn't picked up by her playing partner or the match referee, then it's clearly not a significant infringement.

It's a shame that Ryu's win will forever have a little asterisk next to it in most peoples minds. Along with being considered the Stewart Cink of the ladies major scene for a bit as well.

Someone said that Twitter was the next logical step, I can see spectators piping up from behind the ropes as well if they don't put a lid on this soon.

mulegolf

What's next? Does someone who watched the coming US Open on Tevo call in a penalty they noticed in the 1st or 2nd round and and notifies the PGA the day after the tournament is finished, and the PGA or USGA rescinds the trophy and championship after the fact? How far can this absurd correctness go?

Weirfan

mulegolf

No, it can only be done during the course of the tournament play ( which makes sense) Once the competition is over then no penalty can be applied. if the caller had phoned in today, nothing would have been done , other than we'd be discussing whether or not Lexi deserved to win or not 😉

Sneakylong

The irony is if the new rules are adopted in 2019 this is no longer an infraction. The problem with the USGA is they lack common sense. Stupid archaic rules that should no longer be are ruining these tournaments. Here's what I'd like to see.

If you say it's a game of honor then no outside agent can interfere with the tournament. No more emailing and calling in possible rules infractions. The playing partners protect the field by monitoring each other.
If you want, put a 'video official' in the TV booth and if he sees something then it's his / her call alone.
The video referee cannot zoom in with high definition to see something the naked eye of a player cannot.
No retroactive penalties. If the infraction wasn't seen during that days round then it's over. The statute of limitations is at the end of that days round.
Get rid of these 'gotcha' moments in golf. With all the electronic scoring going on if a player fails to see a mistake on each other scorecards use the technology at hand to get it right.

I think the USGA and R&A are heading in the right direction, but they're too slow. Use some common sense and fix some of these ridiculous things right now.

If I were a sponsor I'd be pissed that my tournament was ruined with needless controversy caused by these governing bodies that lack any sense of common sense.

ronsc1985

She probably moved the ball to get it off a spike mark or other green imperfection. She will never admit it. Either that or she is careless and does this all the time. I saw people, including pros, do this all often when caddying years ago. The running joke was some people gained more distance on the green during the year then the NFL leading rusher. A good indicator is people who use large coins for markers instead of something like a dime or penny.

If she had Just put the dam ball back where it was and none of this would have happened. Where she replaced the ball wasn't even close to it's previous position. Blaming everyone except the person who caused the problem in the first place is silly. Sometimes when you screw up it costs you. By whom and when the infraction was reported is irrelevant.

swinnea

The signing an incorrect scorecard is what gets me. Should players wait a day or two before signing the card to make sure all the deliberations are done?
"It looks like XXXYYYZZZ has won the Master's. Check back in a couple of days to be sure!"

kelco9

swinnea ABSOLUTELY! I am with everyone else (or most everyone else) when they say that rulings should not be made based on calls/emails. It's just not right to have the audience making calls. BUT, I'm surprised that there is so much uproar over this aspect of the situation, and little discussion of the fact she was more or less lured into signing an incorrect card. If they are going to inform her of a penalty a day later (which is absurd in itself), she should have the ability to re-sign the card with the new understanding of the score to which she is attesting. This whole situation is wrong, wrong, wrong, and I hope some heads roll.

sdandrea1

The USGA remains one if the most incompetent collection of egotistical, dumbass, swamp dwelling, shit for breath douchnozzles on the planet. My $.02.

mcavoy

sdandrea1
While I won't disagree with you this tournament was operated by the LPGA under USGA rules. It is not run by the USGA. So the LPGA can make its own rule which states that it will not accept for review any evidence of a penalty after a round is complete and the next round has begun.

Spuzz

mcavoy
It would take some female balls to do this, but it would be refreshing to see somebody think out of the box.

sdandrea1

mcavoy

Makes sense. Didn't know that. Thanks! That insult string above applies to the LPGA as well, then.

mcavoy

Spuzz
Well there's no doubt in my mind that the ball went back in a different position than when she picked it up. The question is intent and when the penalty was applied. The LPGA said they don't think it was intentional. Fine. And I understand the need to protect the field. But what about protection for the player in question? Lexi was given 6 holes to adjust to a 4 stroke penalty for an infraction that occurred 14 holes previously. 4 strokes is substantial by any measure and can affect playing strategy.