Bamberger Criticism

The criticism of Michael Bamberger and SI has bothered me for some reason, even though I know he didn't handle the Wie situation too well, as he acknowledges in the SI.com interview linked here in a second. If you want to read more complaints his actions, go here and here. For Bamberger's SI interview outlining the situation, go here. He says:

A: In hindsight, if I could do anything over again, I would try to intercept her between the 18th green and her signing her scorecard. I wish I would've done that.

And I found this comment interesting:

Q: What would that shot have been like for her?

A: From where she played her shot, she took five practice swings. Each time she lightly brushed a 9-foot tall Yucca plant behind her. If she had been 12-18 inches farther back, that Yucca plant would have been squarely in her way.

So I've finally figured out what's been bothering me about the onslaught of criticism.

Bamberger was out there on the course. Many of golf's finest scribblers haven't been seen walking with a player in years, or if they were, it was from the locker room to the parking lot. Bamberger is actually one of the few who walks enough with players to put himself in a position where he might see something unusual happen.

Some of his critics in the media might want to keep that in mind when they ponder how they would have handled the situation. (Assuming they even left the press center to give themselves a chance to see a violation). 

Brian Wacker at GolfDigest.com also puts the situation in perspective by bringing up the antics of Marco Dawson, whose whistleblowing tactics were far more troublesome.