In a rapid response to the uproar that ensued after Lexi Thompson lost a major championship because of a television viewer, golf’s two major governing bodies have implemented a new decision to the Rules of Golf that will reduce the use of television replay and go back to relying more on a player’s honor when enforcing penalties for rules violations.
In making the joint announcement, the United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of Scotland introduced two interpretative terms that can be used to limit the use of video in making decisions — “reasonable standard of judgment” and “naked eye.” The changes come after two major championships on the LPGA Tour in the past 10 months were decided by television replay.
The most recent came in the ANA Inspiration a month ago when Thompson was penalized four shots for a violation that occurred the previous day and was phoned in by a television viewer. That caused a maelstrom of criticism from players on all tours who decried the ability of a television viewer to cost a player a major championship.
“We’re all responsible for applying rules and calling penalties on ourselves,” said Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior director of rules. “But we’ve seen situations where there is no way the player or anyone around the player could be aware of that. When dealing with video evidence, should we be holding players to a high standard simply because they’re on television?”
Thompson had a 15-inch par putt on the 17th hole in the third round when she stooped to mark the ball and replaced the ball about an inch away. A television viewer contacted the LPGA Tour the next day, and officials determined it was a clear violation. Thompson was assessed a two-shot penalty for an incorrect spot and another two shots for signing an incorrect scorecard. She went from a three-shot lead to one shot behind and eventually lost to So Yeon Ryu in a playoff.
The new decision means a player can avoid a penalty if a rules official thinks the player made a “reasonable judgment” in replacing their ball on the putting green or taking a drop.
Last summer, Anna Nordqvist was assessed a two-shot penalty in a playoff at the U.S. Women’s Open when her club nicked a few granules of sand while playing a shot from a fairway bunker. The infraction was not detected until a television showed a super slo-motion replay of the shot. Under the new decision, players can avoid a penalty if the violation could not be detected with the naked eye.
It is the second time this year the USGA and R&A made a rule change that was effective immediately. The other — eliminating a penalty for accidental movement of the ball — came as a result of the penalty handed to Dustin Johnson in the final round of the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont.
The intent of the new decision is to make sure players who are on television more are not held to a different, if not higher, standard than other players in the tournament.
Top officials had discussed these new standards over the past five years at a rules modernization project. The new set of rules, once it goes through a public comment period, is to take effect in 2019. The USGA and R&A decided not to wait.
Under the new decision, players should not be held to the “degree of precision” that video technology can provide. The rules committee would consider such things as the players’ actions, their explanation and the amount of the discrepancy relative to the drop.
Thompson, who did not speak to reporters after the final round, said in a Golf Channel interview: “I did not mean that at all. I did not realize I did that.”
Two issues the USGA and R&A did not tackle was whether to allow television viewers to call in violations, and whether to add penalty shots for what becomes an incorrect scorecard. That still could be coming.
Golf officials typically care less about the source of information and more about whether a rule was broken and if a penalty should be assessed. Pagel said the new decision on video evidence will minimize the impact viewers have on a competition.
“The moments where you say, ‘Wow, a player is penalized for that?’ Those situations go away. The controversies go away,” he said. “And we think that’s good news.”
The working group also will consider whether to change the centuries-old belief that a scorecard is sacred. The USGA and R&A last year altered the scorecard rule so that players who unknowingly violated a rule that affects their score are docked two shots for an incorrect card. Previously, they were disqualified.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
First Published: April 26, 2017, 4:00 a.m.