AVIDGOLFER

How A Leaf ‘Costs’ This Pro Four Penalty Shots

Rick Arnett /

Don’t blame the rules. Blame the process.

Crazy penalty shots seems to be the norm these days. Yes, the rulings can be maddening. But the onus is also on the offending players. Know them, and these nutty multiple stroke penalties wouldn’t be an issue. Hey, it’s only your livelihood. 

The latest nightmare involved Matthew Southgate who is fighting for a PGA Tour card. He was playing in the Web.com Tour finals on Sunday. Facing a short birdie putt on the 15th, Mother Nature decided to intervene.


What were the odds on that happening?

Well, if Matthew (or his caddie) knew the rules, the four shot penalty never would’ve been assessed and he could’ve re-putted. But he didn’t, so cue the sad violin melody.

Matthew’s putt was deflected by a leaf in motion and the putt was missed. Rule 19-1 requires for the stroke to be cancelled and replayed. Matthew proceeded to tap in his next putt and continued on with his round. The committee was made aware of the situation after Matthew signed his scorecard and prior to the close of competition. The result was the following: Two penalty strokes for a breach of 19-1 (Matthew did not cancel and replay the stroke, see Decision 19-1/3) plus an additional two penalty strokes for a breach of 6-6d (see the exception for Rule 6-6d).

Instead of a sweet birdie, Southgate suffered a quadruple bogey. Again, if he knew the rules, it would’ve worked to his advantage to replay the short bunny putt. Instead, Southgate limped in with a card-threatening 79.

Another side note: The Tour officials didn’t know about the infraction until after Southgate signed his card. Should the player be fairly penalized? There has to be some middle ground working here. I can see Southgate’s brain melting down at the moment, but the bottom line is if a player doesn’t know what to do, call a rules official over immediately.

The Tour simply needs a rules official with each group, or these ultra embarrassing screw-ups are gonna continue.

And continue giving golf a supreme black eye.

Matthew Southgate Penalty shots