More golf rules stupidity

The punishment is the same. First time, any time you miss a pro-am, it's DQ.

 

Just to be clear: I'm a huge golf fan who believes in the rules of golf but this is flat out dumb. I mean, seriously dumb.

 

I agree with the rule in principle, just not the application.
I'm sure Tiger would blow the thing off every weekend given the chance.
But if a guy has a long history of no missteps one time shows up five minutes late with a legitimate reason, he needs a mulligan.

 

Can you imagine all the alpha types these pro-ams attract? Guys bragging to the pro about how much they make, bragging to the others in the group about their golf game, who else they've played with.
I'm sure there are pros out there who will describe the pro-ams as the only five hours of the week they actually feel like they're working.

 

My uncle was a big-time executive with Colgate for many years before retirementy. He played with Alice Cooper in a pro-am in Arizona years ago. Said he was a great guy, told the other guys in the foursome it was cool to call him Vince.

 

I read 'integrity' as 'quality', so I think it does affect the integrity of the competition. It's taken out one of the world's best players for what was an off-course infraction.

While I get the need for the sponsors to get to play with the world's best, I see Mickelson's point. Make the punishment serious enough to be a deterrent, but not so strong that it disqualifies the player. It just isn't fair to let other players benefit from his Furyk's DQ when the only reason he had a chance to be DQ'd is because he's better than them in the first place.

I can't think of a rule in any other sport that governs players' non-competitive obligations, but only applies to the sport's best players. It'd be like suspending an All-Star for a month because he ducked out of the Home Run Derby.

 

Years ago J.C. Snead, for example, and even nonentities such as Smokin' Joe Porter, showed up for the pro-am bucks and proceded to treat their partners like dungballs. That's the behavior that should be penalized, not the occasional late arrival.

But then, a sandtrap filled with people and loose garbage doesn't make sense to me either. What do I know.

 

Spirited is...Tim Finchem:

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=5517487

 

Some think the current FedEx points system is stupid, so this thread is appropriate for the following link, I think.

Here's a new way to revamp the scoring system. Interesting concept....

http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,2020325,00.html/?eref=sihp