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April 19, 2013

Steve Williams on #TW at #Masters: Tiger should have DQed

Adam Scott and Steve Williams. Getty Images via ESPN
Hah! What I've been waiting for, and said so since Sunday evening, when Adam Scott won the Masters with his dramatic playoff putt.

Scott's looper, who helped him with the dramatic putt, Steve Williams, was on Tiger Woods' bag for all but the first of his 14 majors, as golf fans know.

Well, he's now spoken about Woods' infamous, ultimately penalized, drop on the 15th hole on Friday.

Williams says he doesn't think Woods was trying to get a competitive advantage, but that he should have been disqualified, not just penalized two shots.
"From what I can gather, he took an illegal drop, signed a scorecard and left the course," Williams told the television station. "Under most circumstances that would result in disqualification. ... If the rules of golf are upheld, I believe he should have been disqualified."
Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?

Williams also says he doesn't like viewers phoning in about Player X knocking a leaf off a tree or whatever.

I agree. And, so do officials, and the PGA, who ameliorated that, at least, with Rule 33-7. However, that rule didn't apply to this situation.

Don't agree w/NY Post politics, but love its headers!
Rather, Tiger tattled on himself after the round, in the presser. That's why I agree with Williams that Tiger wasn't trying to gain an advantage. Nonetheless, it was clearly illegal. And, yes, he should have been DQ-ed.

But, what if there were a second phone call? Not a Joe Fan. Say, either a former player, or another currently active one. I'm betting the former. Somebody with a certain amount of game himself. Somebody appalled that nothing was being done when Woods admitted he had broke a rule.

Maybe it was Jack Nicklaus! I'm 3/4 joking, but 1/4 serious.

Or ... calling from another golf network ... Johnny Miller! That one is only 50 percent joking.

In that original post, I said somebody should interview Jack. I wasn't joking then, and I'm even less joking now.

Let's have him weigh in on viewer call-ins in general, and this issue in particular. Or let's have Sir Nick Faldo expand on the comments he made on the issue.

Or, if it was Miller, damn, let's have him say something during NBC's next golf broadcast of a tournament that has Woods in it.

It's better than having Tiger-fellating writers like Dan Wetzel continue to give him a pass.

Per ESPN, the rule is pretty damned clear. Meanwhile, if not in a major, golfers have voluntarily withdrawn from other tournaments in similar situations, as John Feinstein notes.

Meanwhile, this all shows the value of a good caddie. Other caddies wouldn't have had the same degree of skill in helping Scott line up his putt. Williams might have helped Tiger avoid a bad drop on Friday. He still might not have won, but he would have been closer, at the start of Sunday's round.

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