(Golf Ruling) is Tiger above the rules??

[SirFozzie]

I'm sorry, Tiger had an awesome round, but the way this is presented, this seems to me it's out of bounds (the roof of the clubhouse???) . Instead, they give him a free drop.. I guess they DO want Tiger to win.... *confused*

AKRON, Ohio -- Even Tiger could laugh at the scene.

Tiger Woods' second shot on the par-4 ninth hole at the Firestone Country Club on Friday went far right, hit pavement and bounced onto the roof of the clubhouse.

Some moments later, a WGC-Bridgestone tournament official was seen roaming around the roof looking for the ball. Woods gathered with other officials at the entrance to the clubhouse as the gallery swarmed to the area.

Woods was the leader at the time at 10-under par. His playing partner, Paul McGinley also blasted his second shot over the green and into the gallery.

Figuring out where Woods should drop took so long that the group behind his was told to play through.

Woods and McGinley were shown on ESPN's broadcast laughing as they waited near the 18th green.

The telecast reported some moments later that a cook from the clubhouse found Woods' ball and handed it over to his caddie, Steve Williams. Woods was allowed to drop just off the path near the clubhouse about 100 yards from the hole. Woods' then hit his third shot, a wedge, onto the green within 25 feet of the cup. He just missed his par putt right.

Woods was not assessed a penalty stroke. PGA Tour official Mike Shea said, "This is a pretty unusual situation. … The ball ended up in the parking lot where preparation for hospitality takes place."

Officials ruled that the ball had been moved by someone and that the grandstand qualified as a temporary obstruction.

"The ball was picked up by an outside agency," Shea said.

Woods settled for bogey on the ninth, carding a 64 for the day

[SirFozzie]

Bump, can anyone answer this?

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Bump, can anyone answer this?

Seems like they ruled it 100% correctly. Same situation as someone hitting it into the grandstand behind the 18th green and getting a free drop.

[SirFozzie]

But they're saying the ball was interfered with. It wasn't. He hit it on top of the roof of the clubhouse. Are we saying that if Joe Average put his shot on top of the clubhouse, it wouldn't be ruled out of bounds?

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Seems like they ruled it 100% correctly. Same situation as someone hitting it into the grandstand behind the 18th green and getting a free drop.

Actually, it's an awful article. First they call it the clubhouse, then later the grandstand. Clubhouse would typically be OOB, but no rules official would be dumb enough to miss that. So I'm guessing it's actually a temporary extension of the clubhouse and the ruling was 100% correct.

[SirFozzie]

Here's a BBC article:

Reigning champion Tiger Woods was involved in chaotic scenes at the end of his second round in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron.

Woods' second shot from the rough at the 9th, his last, flew over the grandstand and bounced onto the roof of the three-storey clubhouse.

But after 45 minutes officials gave him a free drop and he secured a bogey.

Woods said: "I don't know how that wasn't out of bounds first of all and I also don't know how anybody found it."

Woods's good fortune - he only just missed his long par putt - helped him to a round of 64 and a nine-under total of 131, a one-shot lead over Davis Love III and three clear of Australia's Adam Scott and Jim Furyk.

It initially seemed the world number one, who is chasing a fourth straight PGA Tour title, would have to play his fourth shot from the same spot in the rough from where he played his wayward second.

But when a member of the clubhouse catering staff found the ball a US Tour rules official decided the clubhouse at Firestone Country Club was not out of bounds.

The Open and USPGA champion was then given a very favourable drop with an unimpeded line into the green.

Asked afterwards if he thought it was an oversight the clubhouse had not been made out of bounds, Woods said: "I'm not complaining.

"The ball was apparently in some guy's pocket and they ended up getting it.

"If I had had to re-drop from where I hit the second shot, it would have been tough to make six. It's a huge break to make five.

"I've never seen anything like it and certainly never experienced anything like it. But I did once hit into a portaloo - a guy opened the door at the wrong moment."

Westwood slumps

Europe's Ryder Cup hopefuls fared less well.

While Luke Donald tied for eighth on four under, Lee Westwood slumped to joint last place on 12 over before staging a fightback.

Ian Poulter, also needing top six on Sunday to force his way into the automatic qualification places, battled back from two over after 18 holes to level par after 36 - still only good enough for 25th.

David Howell, still in some discomfort from the shoulder injury he suffered at the USPGA last weekend, slumped from fourth to 46th. The European Order of Merit leader finished with a 79 to slide to six over for the tournament.
7
Dubliners Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley, eighth and ninth in the Ryder standings, were five over and nine over respectively.

Their cup places are not secure yet and 10th-placed Jose Maria Olazabal has the chance to overtake both Irishmen. The Spaniard is two under at the halfway stage.

[SirFozzie]

So.. a Three story building. Not out of bounds, and since someone picked up the ball from the roof before it was found by officials.. it was obstructed with and he got a free drop.

The hell????

[AlexB]

Tiger does get a few breaks - somebody deliberately slapped his 1st drive back into play at the PGA last week as well... But he's a decent player as well - I think at least some of his record is down to skill as well

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Don't forget the group of about 8 spectators at the Pheoniz about 6-7 years ago who helped roll a boulder out of the way for his shot (he was basically right up against it) -- but deemed legal because it was a "loose impediment," which is a term usually reserved for small stones or rocks.

And don't ask me how a clubhouse is not deemed out of bounds????????

[maxwarrior]

The club house would be out of bounds only if it was declared and marked as such before the tournament. Since it wasn't in this case, the officials ruled correctly. I've played many courses where the club house isn't marked or listed on course rules as being out of bounds. I've hit a few that were right behind the 18th or 9th greens with little rough before some asphalt.

[kcchief19]

If the clubhouse isn't out of bounds, the ruling is pretty clear.

Tiger is clearly not above the rules. But it's widely recognized that no player knows the rules better than Tiger. A lot of players would have simply probably taken the penalty and played the ball as if it was OOB. By knowing the rules, Tiger is able to use them to his advantage. Over the years, we've seen him take advantage of a lot of obscure rules to get free drops that other players don't get because they don't the rule book.

It's just another tribute to his greatness as a player that he knows the game so well that he's able to gain an advantage by simply knowing the rulebook.

[vtbub]

It cleared the clubhouse and hit a catering cart on the other side, from the write up in USA Today. The clubhouse, and frankly the road and the North Course across the street are all marked in bounds.

The legend continues.

[primelord]

I was watching the telecast when it happened and as several have said in this thread the clubhouse was not marked as out of bounds. Theoretically had the ball stayed on the roof, Tiger could have gone up on the roof and hit the ball from there. As it turned out though the ball ended up coming off the roof and someone else picked it up. Seems pretty clear cut.

[Logan]

But Tiger is the devil...hence, the outrage.