Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Crane learns tour a stickler about stickers
Ben Crane was assessed an eight-stroke penalty Thursday in the first round of the Web.com Tour’s Albertsons Boise Open for having two clubs with “shot-sticker” decals in his bag.
Things got worse for Crane before Friday’s second round when he was disqualified.
According to PGA.com’s T.J. Auclair, Crane reported the first violation to officials after finishing the first hole, resulting in two twostroke penalties for having the club in his bag between holes 10 and 11.
He informed the officials of the second nonconforming club while on the 14th hole, incurring another pair of two-shot punishments, the maximum penalty allowed under USGA rule 4-2 for each club, according to Auclair.
With the penalties factored in, Crane shot a 5-over 76.
After the round, Crane, 41, posted two tweets regarding the situation: “Had a new ‘that’s golf’ moment today. Was penalized 8 shots for having tiny stickers on two clubs [help launch monitors collect data]. … Tournament golf is pretty challenging but it’s REALLY difficult when you’ve accumulated 12 strokes before hitting your second tee shot.”
On Friday, Crane explained to Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio that he was disqualified before the second round because he did not tell his playing partners Thursday that his 6-iron was taken out of play. He said this was the rule even though his playing partners were not near him when rules officials told him he had to take it out of play.
“They were 350 yards down the fairway. I turned it over in my bag so it’s just the grip sticking out. I told the official, but I never told my playing partners. [The official] goes, ‘You’re disqualified.’ ”
The stickers on Crane’s clubs were used in training to provide swing data. In the rules, it is stated that a sticker on a club face represents an attachment, which is illegal.
While Crane is a PGA Tour veteran, he lost his PGA Tour card after finishing 147th in the FedEx Cup standings. If the five-time PGA Tour tournament winner can finish in the top 25 cumulatively over the course of a four-tournament stretch on the Web.com Tour, he will regain his card.
Starting young
It’s hard to be surprised by anything in the boxing business, but Friday’s weigh-ins in London could be a first.
WBO middleweight world champion Billy Joe Saunders and American-based challenger Willie Monroe both made weight for their fight today.
What happened afterward was pretty unexpected.
While Saunders was flexing, his son got between his dad and Monroe, who began messing with the child’s hair. All of a sudden, Saunders’ son — who looks to be about 10 years old — gave Monroe a punch below the belt.
The pair are set to fight tonight at London’s 02 Copperbox Arena for the WBO middleweight world title. Saunders holds a professional record of 24-0 with 12 knockouts, while Monroe is 21-2 with 6 knockouts.
Monroe will learn to have his protective cup on hand going forward. No word yet on whether the judges are going to deduct a point from Saunders ahead of the bout.