Well Wasn't That A Strange Way To End A Golf Tournament...**
/I'm not sure what was more bizarre about the conclusion to the final Verizon-sponsored Heritage Classic...
- That Brian Davis seemingly explained to Slugger White that he might have violated the rules because Slugger didn't see it happen, even though it was a playoff and there was nothing else to be watching
- That fans were booing the time it took to check with the replay booth whether a rule had been broken
- That CBS was showing its credits over a compelling playoff situation prior to Davis hitting his shot.
- That Davis actually violated the loose impediment rule when the item in question appeared rooted in the ground, but clearly someone thought it wasn't
- That CBS didn't have time for a quick post round interview (you go affiliates!)
Anyway, odd but as Jim Nantz noted, quite admirable of Davis to have immediately questioned what happened and to have called this on himself.
If you saw it, thoughts?
**John Vander Borght explains what went wrong during the Heritage playoff and why it was indeed a penalty.
Slugger White explained what happened after the round and it sounds like he issued a gentle warning prior to Davis entering the hazard, which might explain why Davis called out his mistake so quickly. Davis doesn't mention that in his comments.
Well, when he hit the ball in the hazard, I cautioned him not to touch anything loose. When I went down in there, he said fine. And it's really strange, all these reeds that were loose, most of them were going this way, and this one reed was sticking out just outside his ball, I guess. And he looked and looked and looked, and when he took the club away he ticked it. And he immediately came to me -- I couldn't see it. The wind was blowing, so I couldn't see it against the sand. And he assured me that he ticked it when he took the club away. He called it on himself immediately.
The SI/golf.com Confidential team, in between debating Jim Furyk's place in golf history and what's wrong with Sergio--those hot button issues--were not very positive about CBS's coverage of the situation.
Van Sickle: TV did a lousy job of explaining the penalty. Viewers had to be confused. I was.
Herre: Faldo wouldn't shut up! You could make out the conversation Slugger White was having on his handheld — whenever Faldo wasn't talking over what was being said. Poor job by CBS.
Herre: For a journeyman who has never won on the PGA Tour, Davis was impressive. I don't think even the armchair rules officials would've picked up on his error.
Morfit: In the end it was much ado about nothing, right? Doesn't Furyk win the playoff on that hole even if Davis doesn't touch a loose impediment? Weird scene down on the beach, though. I thought I'd clicked on the Clamming Channel.
Evans: Not sure what to make of Davis not finishing the hole after all that overly officious professionalism and honesty. It was funny to see Slugger White tell Furyk that he still had to putt out after Davis shook his hand.
