Tiger escapes Masters disqualification after 'admitting' to illegal drop... but was Lindsey's Vonn ex the tipster behind row?
Tiger Woods' girlfriend Lindsey
Vonn's ex-husband jokingly posted on Twitter today that he was the
television viewer who ratted out Tiger's illegal ball drop during the
Masters tournament.
'No problem Masters tournament happy to call in and help. You always have to keep an eye on those cheaters ;)' Thomas Vonn wrote yesterday while linking to a news story about Woods, who notoriously cheated on his wife with a bevy of women.
Woods finished Saturday, day three of the prestigious major golf competition, tied for seventh place as he's three-under par. He's four strokes behind the leaders, Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera.
Although Woods was allowed to keep playing, not everyone agreed with that move.
Six-time major champion Sir Nick Faldo says Woods needs to do 'the manly thing' and withdraw from the tournament after he was spared by a 2012 rule on Friday provided to players believed to have committed an honest mistake.
Woods, however, later admitted to knowingly taking his ball drop two yards further back from where he hit his original shot - a rules violation that provided him with an improper advantage after sinking his ball in Rae's Creek.
'I went back to where I played it
from, but went two yards further back and I tried to take two yards off
the shot of what I felt I hit,' Woods said on Friday while three shots
out of the lead.
'And that should land me short of the flag and not have it either hit the flag or skip over the back. I felt that was going to be the right decision to take off four (yards) right there. And I did. It worked out perfectly.'
It was that statement that launched a firestorm of uproar, and on Saturday led to a 2-stroke penalty by the Masters committee.
'He should really sit quietly with whoever he trusts, [long-time agent] Mark Steinberg, a few others, maybe Lindsey [Vonn, his girlfriend] as well, and sit and just go, "wow, I would be doing the manly thing to go, I have broken the rules of golf,"' Faldo told the Golf Channel on Saturday.
'There is some leeway with the signing the incorrect (score) card. Not with intentionally not dropping as near as possible,' Tweeted David Duval, a former World Number One golfer.
It was a television viewer who brought Woods’ illegal drop on the 15th hole to officials' attention, which would have been otherwise missed, according to a statement by Augusta National.
While Woods was on the 18th
hole, officials consequently reviewed footage of his drop before
announcing their decision - a pardoning one.
'The penalty of disqualification was waived by the Committee under Rule 33 as the Committee had previously reviewed the information and made its initial determination prior to the finish of [Woods’] round,' Fred Ridley, the committee's chairman said.
According to USGA Rule 33-7: ‘A penalty of disqualification may in exceptional individual cases be waived, modified or imposed if the committee such action warranted. If a Committee considers that a player is guilty of a serious breach of etiquette, it may impose a penalty of disqualification under this Rule.’
The committee issued him a 2-stroke penalty on Saturday morning Woods says strictly because of his interview on Friday that appeared to express his admission of knowing wrong doing.
On Saturday, roughly an hour
before teeing off, Woods released the following statement claiming he
didn't realize he was so detrimentally far from his original place
before taking that shot.
‘I didn’t know I had taken an incorrect drop prior to signing my scorecard,’ Woods tweeted. ‘Subsequently, I met with the Masters Committee Saturday morning and was advised they had reviewed the incident prior to the completion of my round.
'Their initial determination was that there was no violation, but they had additional concerns based on my post-round interview. After discussing the situation with them this morning, I was assessed a two-shot penalty. I understand and accept the penalty and respect the Committee' decision.'
Woods will begin 5 strokes behind leader Jason Day on Saturday afternoon, who's 6 under.
The revision to Rule 33 was based upon the modern era of television. One example cited was Padraig Harrington, who opened with a 65 in Abu Dhabi at the start of the 2011 season.
Harrington was disqualified when a slow-motion replay on high-definition TV revealed that his ball moved ever so slightly after he replaced his marked. Harrington didn't realize it had moved - a two-shot penalty - and was disqualified for an incorrect card.
That same year, Camilo Villegas was disqualified in Hawaii when a TV viewer noticed he tamped down a divot in an area where his chip was rolling back down a slope. Rule 33 would not have applied there because Villegas did not know the rule.
Woods started the year with a rules violation. He took relief from an imbedded lie in a sandy area covered with vines in Abu Dhabi. It was determined that relief was not allowed in the sand. He was docked two shots before signing his card, and it caused him to miss the cut.
Hunter Mahan summed up the mess on Twitter: "If you think tiger should be dq'd your not wrong, if you think 2 shot penalty is enough your not wrong. Not sure the right answer."
'No problem Masters tournament happy to call in and help. You always have to keep an eye on those cheaters ;)' Thomas Vonn wrote yesterday while linking to a news story about Woods, who notoriously cheated on his wife with a bevy of women.
Woods finished Saturday, day three of the prestigious major golf competition, tied for seventh place as he's three-under par. He's four strokes behind the leaders, Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera.
Sweet justice: Thomas Vonn, whose ex-wife
Lindsey is now dating Tiger Woods, said yesterday on Twitter that he was
the one who ratted out Tiger's cheating at the Masters
Six-time major champion Sir Nick Faldo says Woods needs to do 'the manly thing' and withdraw from the tournament after he was spared by a 2012 rule on Friday provided to players believed to have committed an honest mistake.
Woods, however, later admitted to knowingly taking his ball drop two yards further back from where he hit his original shot - a rules violation that provided him with an improper advantage after sinking his ball in Rae's Creek.
Outrage: Tiger Woods takes a drop on the 15th
hole after his ball went into the water during the second round of the
Masters golf tournament on Friday, one that launched cries for his
disqualification
Pressure: Six-time major champion Sir Nick
Faldo, seen with Woods in 2006 in Hoylake, England, says he needs to
'man up' and resign from the 2013 tournament
'And that should land me short of the flag and not have it either hit the flag or skip over the back. I felt that was going to be the right decision to take off four (yards) right there. And I did. It worked out perfectly.'
It was that statement that launched a firestorm of uproar, and on Saturday led to a 2-stroke penalty by the Masters committee.
'He should really sit quietly with whoever he trusts, [long-time agent] Mark Steinberg, a few others, maybe Lindsey [Vonn, his girlfriend] as well, and sit and just go, "wow, I would be doing the manly thing to go, I have broken the rules of golf,"' Faldo told the Golf Channel on Saturday.
'There is some leeway with the signing the incorrect (score) card. Not with intentionally not dropping as near as possible,' Tweeted David Duval, a former World Number One golfer.
It was a television viewer who brought Woods’ illegal drop on the 15th hole to officials' attention, which would have been otherwise missed, according to a statement by Augusta National.
Happier times: Lindsey Vonn with then husband
Thomas. Lindsey and Tiger Woods announced they were dating recently and
his play as markedly improved
Sunk: Woods reacts after the ball went into the
water on the 15th hole, a trap that gave him three options to wiggle out
of, one he's said to have illegally performed
'The penalty of disqualification was waived by the Committee under Rule 33 as the Committee had previously reviewed the information and made its initial determination prior to the finish of [Woods’] round,' Fred Ridley, the committee's chairman said.
According to USGA Rule 33-7: ‘A penalty of disqualification may in exceptional individual cases be waived, modified or imposed if the committee such action warranted. If a Committee considers that a player is guilty of a serious breach of etiquette, it may impose a penalty of disqualification under this Rule.’
The committee issued him a 2-stroke penalty on Saturday morning Woods says strictly because of his interview on Friday that appeared to express his admission of knowing wrong doing.
Leader: Jason Day of Australia, seen during the
second round of the 2013 Masters Tournament, starts the third round on
Saturday 6 under
‘I didn’t know I had taken an incorrect drop prior to signing my scorecard,’ Woods tweeted. ‘Subsequently, I met with the Masters Committee Saturday morning and was advised they had reviewed the incident prior to the completion of my round.
'Their initial determination was that there was no violation, but they had additional concerns based on my post-round interview. After discussing the situation with them this morning, I was assessed a two-shot penalty. I understand and accept the penalty and respect the Committee' decision.'
Round three: Woods, right, is seen putting on
the practice green before the third round on Saturday afternoon after
assessed a 2-stroke penalty by the rules committee for the drop on
Friday
Playing fair: Woods, seen on Saturday, started
the year with a rules violation after taking relief from an imbedded lie
in a sandy area covered with vines in Abu Dhabi which was determined
not allowed in the sand
The revision to Rule 33 was based upon the modern era of television. One example cited was Padraig Harrington, who opened with a 65 in Abu Dhabi at the start of the 2011 season.
Harrington was disqualified when a slow-motion replay on high-definition TV revealed that his ball moved ever so slightly after he replaced his marked. Harrington didn't realize it had moved - a two-shot penalty - and was disqualified for an incorrect card.
That same year, Camilo Villegas was disqualified in Hawaii when a TV viewer noticed he tamped down a divot in an area where his chip was rolling back down a slope. Rule 33 would not have applied there because Villegas did not know the rule.
Woods started the year with a rules violation. He took relief from an imbedded lie in a sandy area covered with vines in Abu Dhabi. It was determined that relief was not allowed in the sand. He was docked two shots before signing his card, and it caused him to miss the cut.
Hunter Mahan summed up the mess on Twitter: "If you think tiger should be dq'd your not wrong, if you think 2 shot penalty is enough your not wrong. Not sure the right answer."