Not gentlemanly but the rules were applied. It wouldn't be a good way to win though. Hand of God!
On Saturday many of you would have seen Mickelson's strange behavior on the Par 4, 13th where he hit a moving ball. After being given a two shot penalty he eventually walked off the green with a 10. Mickelson stated he was not being disrespectful to the course and tournament, but felt he was going to rack up a huge score if the ball left the green. The rule for a moving ball is really there for a ball that is blown by the wind, not for players to use it to better their ball position finish. He also stated that he would with draw from the competition if the organisers wanted him too?
John Daly did a similar thing in 1998 and was disqualified. Such a strange thing for Mickelson to do? In my eyes he disrespected the tournament and his fellow competitors and should have been DQ'd or am I just being harsh? He ended up tying for 48th place and actually parred the hole the following day. Certainly one of the strangest things I've seen in professional golf!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOcyWiIG9Ow
Last edited by wildheart; 20th June 2018 at 08:58.
Not gentlemanly but the rules were applied. It wouldn't be a good way to win though. Hand of God!
Tactical Foul.
Regardless of your opinion either way, its something we see regularly across many sports.
Personally I thinks it’s disrespectful and yep blatantly cheating. He knew what he was doing and I would of loved to of seen him DQ’d. And some of his comments after playing it down and such was poor form.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
He did it on purpose to better his position. It's against the rules so yes, he cheated in my opinion.
Yep, totally out of keeping of the etiquette of golf and unlike him. Everyone was frustrated with the course but nobody else behaved like that.... not a good example to set for the kids watching at all.
Rush of blood then tried to excuse what he'd done, should have DQed himself
He cheated pure and simple. There is no doubt he should've been disqualified and if the US PGA had any backbone they should've done so.
The amount of times I've watched my ball disappear off the edge of a green.
If I'd known it was OK to chase after it and bring it back with a quick tap I might still be playing
He broke the rules out of extreme frustration, KNOWING that he would suffer the consequences! He did not "cheat."
I’m a huge Mickleson fan, but he really let himself down badly with that episode.
These guys are professionals and should be able to deal with all aspects of pro
tournament golf, he acted like a petulant child and to me it’s the worst case of
ungentlemanly conduct I’ve seen on a pro’s golf course.
He should of DQ’d himself straight away and apologised to his fellow professionals and all
the fans who follow golf, who certainly contribute financially so these guys can make
a very extravagant living of their sport.
Yes, he assessed the likelihood of putting in from where the ball would have ended up and made the decision that a 2 shot penalty is worth taking in favour of the balls likely end position. Unsportsman like conduct and sets a bad example basically saying take the rule hit if it means a likely lesser shot penalty.
Hopefully it will mean a re-evaluation if the rules with a higher stroke penalty going forward.
Exactly.
Do people seriously see that as cheating? He was way out of the running and it was making a statement, whether that’s right or wrong can be debated all day but cheating it was not. It’s not like he sunk the putt and got away with an advantage.
If he was going to cheat he’d have simply stopped it from rolling and taken a putt.
Nonsense. He purposely stopped his ball from coming to rest in a spot where he would be at a disadvantage by deflecting it to a position from where his lie was significantly improved. If any club golfer did that in a competition they would be treated very differently from PM. If the USPGA actually had a backbone and weren't scared of upsetting a high profile player they would've applied the correct punishment and sent him home with his tail between his legs. Frustration on a golf course is no excuse for cheating. Muttering obscenities under your breath,yes!
It was clearly outside the spirit of the rules and it is beyond me why the USPGA did not DQ him. Very disappointing all round.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Should of been kicked out ,hitting the moving ball wasn’t really the issue for me ,it’s the fact he did it on purpose to stop it rolling any further,never did like him.
Would of been interesting if it had been a European ,bet he’d of got the boot
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’ve always been a huge fan of PM. Not so much now to be honest
I was told the greens were vertically unplayable and the players were complaining
If you follow the rules then it would be easy to interpret the sub section that states someone seeking to gain a competitive advantage should be DQ’d.
Mickelson was lucky a) he’s Phil Mickelson and not Brian Harmon say and b) the USGA are useless idiots more concerned with their own reputation than doing the right thing with PR issues of their own to deal with.
He admitted after his round he did it deliberately thus making his case weaker. He should have been disqualified in my opinion.