rsvman

No, they assessed a 2-shot penalty. And that’s probably why Phil wasn’t DQ’d, despite him saying after the fact that he was trying to use the rules to his advantage.

Whether that is a breach of the spirit of the rules/competition is obviously a different debate altogether.

I think we all agree that this wasn’t one of his finer moments. Especially considering how he’s conducted himself in the past. Maybe they felt he’s earned a little leeway with how he’s represented himself and the tour throughout his career.

I wouldn’t be surprised though if he DQ’s himself and doesn’t play tomorrow in the final round.

He’s undoubtedly already regretting what he did.

What a stupid am I part 2!

    2 stroke is weak. He should WD and crawl in a hole. I heard about it, and when I saw it, was embarrassed. The other guys dealt with the same greens all tournament long! Lexi gets a 2 stroke for BS and Dustin gets a 2 stroke for BS and Phil gets a 2 stroke for intentionally cheating. LOL, I agree, no big deal.... Phuck I'm Good Just Ask Me!

      mikeintopeka

      Yea, had he said he just momentarily lost it, he'd be the hero of the people who think the course was too tricked up to be fair,including me. Trying to somehow suggest he was being smart was just an awful idea.

        I struggle with this, I know it was out of frustration and rightfully so. I think the statement was made to force the USGA to deal with more drama. I don’t think they can DQ him and he knows it, which is why I like what he said. He’s said all along they are useless and now he’s proving his point, they can’t get anything right. It’s going to cost his a lot of money to do it, but he’s doing it.

        The right thing for the USGA to do is say, we know he was using the rules, but not in the spirit of the game, he is disqualified. The thing for Phil to do, is withdraw, but if I were in his shoes, I might just play it out and hit as many redonkuless shots as I possibly could to illustrate what a mess they made of the course.

          ode
          I don't think he intentionally cheated. He didn't want to own up to a John Daly moment so he tried to spin it as calculated to portray himself as "smart." Because Fook I'm Good, Just Ask Me! LOL. Just made it worse, IMO.

              MidwayJ well, he intentionally hit a moving ball😉. Post round would have been a perfect opportunity to use his proven sharp tongue, instead we get his poor example of sportsmanship and his figjam spin to illustrate a point. I don't think it hurts his image much because the usga is the bigger villain here. But it was still chicken sh1t by Figjam!

                johnnydoom However, given the circumstances, it also clearly wasn’t to gain a competitive advantage

                I applaud Phil for his stance on pace of play.

                  DC300 I struggle with this, I know it was out of frustration and rightfully so. I think the statement was made to force the USGA to deal with more drama.

                  He had zero time to contemplate any rules advantage after he hit the putt. He reacted out of frustration.
                  However, he had lots of time to formulate a response after the round.
                  To me, his response was a "double dare ya" to the USGA to DQ him.
                  His comments pre-tournament suggest he was already antagonistic towards them and "knew" they would screw up.
                  He was right about the screw up, imo.

                    a player uses the rules of golf to their advantage....wow , what a shocker......like this doesn't happen multiple times every week.

                      Weirfan
                      Do you really believe he was thinking about the rules at the time of his self implosion?
                      Hell he even admitted to the walking official and the standard bearer he didn't know what he
                      just scored on #13.
                      His post round interview was nothing more than a bunch of FIGJAM BS!IMO

                        Phil could've simply taken an unplayable, wherever his ball ended up. He could've gone back to within a club-length of where he putted, probably gotten out of that hole with a 9 or a 10 at-worst doing so.

                        It wasn't about speeding up play. They were in position. The guys up ahead were struggling with the conditions just like they were. Even had he decided to not declare the ball unplayable and played it from where it would've ended up - they still wouldn't have been put on the clock. So the slow-play thing just doesn't jive.

                        He wanted to make a statement. And he did. And I think he'll regret his actions looking back on it.

                        Phil has a very narrow window of opportunity to achieve the career grand slam. In his mind he probably thinks the USGA and their trickery has it out for him, that they don't want him to win their tournament. If he's that upset with the organization - simply don't play. And honestly - I wouldn't blame him if he decided to not play any more US Opens. I think boycotting the event would be a much better statement than him making an ass out of himself as he's trying to make an ass out of the USGA.

                        I'm sure he was frustrated, but he would be the last person I would expect to protest the setup in such a way.

                        He had options. He just lost it, and then tried to act like he was smarter than everyone else when he was called out for it.

                        And it backfired.

                        From Rule 14-5.....
                        (Ball purposely deflected or stopped by player, partner or caddie - see Rule 1-2)

                        From Rule 1-2.....
                        A player must not (i) take an action with the intent to influence the movement of a ball in play or (ii) alter physical conditions with the intent of affecting the playing of a hole.

                        and.....
                        Penalty for Breach of Rule 1-2:

                        Match play - Loss of hole; Stroke play - Two strokes.

                        In the case of a serious breach of Rule 1-2, the Committee may impose a penalty of disqualification.

                        2 stroke penalty either way, BUT.......how is "serious beach" determined? Admitting that you did it on purpose and knowing that it was illegal????

                        Their decision was made too quickly. If it was about a moving ball(in the past), it usually took them 3-4 holes to let the player know.

                        It's over now, no going back, check in the bank!

                        But TW is a cheat!??

                        Yeah, and if he knew the rule was 13-1, how did he not know that hitting a moving ball was a two-stroke penalty? LOL

                        Maybe Phil will start smoking and hanging out with John Daly

                        I am in the camp of the 2 stroke. The USGA seems to deem Phil made a stroke at moving ball that did hit the cup and continue on, not just go somewhere off to the side.

                        I think the USGA should get Phil to do another rule video, this one showing the infraction he did, show how each of the rules would have come into play. Also the option of an unplayable lie should be included.

                        For me the unplayable lie was something hadn't thought of and I have had several occasions where I could have used it. I can see now instead of having the steep side down hill putt that is going to run off the green and down 5 to 10 yards, I can take a penalty and the from the original spot move it two club lengths and now have what could be an uphill putt.

                        I think too much is being made of it.

                          Martee For me the unplayable lie was something hadn't thought of and I have had several occasions where I could have used it. I can see now instead of having the steep side down hill putt that is going to run off the green and down 5 to 10 yards, I can take a penalty and the from the original spot move it two club lengths and now have what could be an uphill putt.

                          Too bad these guys(players) really do not know all the rules. Imagine how many times this could have been used to great advantage/gain, esp. on Sat..

                            Personally, I think Rule 1-2 should apply in situations such as this regardless of whether the player "makes a stroke" or not. The intent is to stop the ball. But it appears the precedent was set already with the John Daly incident.