‘Lexi law’ will mean no more trial by telly
THE R&A will today announce a rule change to prevent any repeat of the Lexi Thompson fiasco at the first women’s Major of the season.
The American lost the ANA Inspiration in a play-off after being penalised four shots during the final round for replacing a marked ball incorrectly the day beforehand on the say-so of a TV viewer.
Golf’s governing bodies are anxious to avoid any repeat, with simmering disquiet over the influence of the sofa police, and are set to bring in an immediate change after top-level meetings at Augusta.
“The problem is that if you’re playing at 8am when there are no cameras or if you’re on TV at 4pm then the rules are different,” said Sir Nick Faldo yesterday. “You can do the same thing on TV and away from the cameras and you could get different rulings. They have to get a level playing field, where someone is watching all the time or someone isn’t.”
The six-time Major champion also backed the R&A’s long-term plan to slim down golf’s weighty rulebook for 2019.
“There are probably 2,000 rules that can affect any player. They need 18, 24 or 36 basic rules so they know what are doing,” said Faldo, above.
What will not change is golf’s iron rule that a player should ultimately act as his or her referee, as former European Ryder Cup player David Howell did at the Shenzen International in China.
The 41-year-old approached officials at the end of the tournament to report that his conscience was troubled over an incident involving a preferred lie that happened two days previously.
It was agreed Howell had played from the wrong place and thus returned an incorrect scorecard, so he incurred a four-shot penalty.
As Howell would not have made the cut had the penalty been applied at the time, he chose to forfeit his prize money.
The Open may increase its prize money and pay out in dollars for the first time this season because of the fall in the value of the pound post-Brexit. The R&A have acknowledged it as a live option as last year’s £6.5million Open prize fund is now worth 20 per cent less than the US Open. “It is something we’re looking at,” said Mike Woodcock, the R&A director of communications. What should help is the predicted strong attendance at this year’s championship at Birkdale. “Birkdale is traditionally one of the strongest venues and tickets have been selling very fast for this year,” said Woodcock. “In fact, it has been one of the fastest-selling Opens we’ve had. We’re optimistic of getting more than 200,000 spectators.” That compares with 173,134 at Troon last year. At 7,156 yards, Birkdale will play 17 yards shorter than it did when the Open was last staged at the Merseyside course in 2008, when Padraig Harrington triumphed. The main change is a refiguring of the 17th green, though its undulations that drew criticism as out of keeping with the rest of the traditional links nine years ago remain. This year’s Open marks Masters runner-up Justin Rose’s return to the venue where he finished fourth as a 17-year-old in 1998. “Rosey is definitely a strong contender,” said Faldo. “He’s a Major champion, he’s just come off the Masters and will be heavily inspired being back at Birkdale.”