Tom Kite Owes Camilo An Apology!

At least, that's one takeaway from Frank Hannigan's excellent "Voices" contribution in this week's Golf World (story not posted) addressing the Camilo Villegas DQ following a viewer-reported violation. It seems that after Paul Azinger infamously improved his stance in a Doral water hazard in 1991, former Commissioner Deane Beman "ordained that one of his field staff would go into the TV production truck at the start of every telecast and monitor play from in front of a monitor."

But, as Hannigan recalls, jus two months later field staffer George Boutell saw Tom Kite possibly take an incorrect drop and intervened by picking up his walkie-talkie. When Kite found out, he and other players "fussed enough to cause the tour to discontinue the practice."

Which led Hannigan to conclude...

Even if it means having to hire one more Rules of Golf expert, the tour should revert to the TV monitoring system instead of being subject to the whims of viewers who have the technical means and knowledge to throw these occasional incidents up on the Internet.