Sigh...Keven Na Roots For His Backstopping Ball To Help Another Player
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Just when we thought the whole backstopping thing was over, along comes Kevin Na adding a new layer.
To be clear, no violation of the rules took place. But the spirit of the rules? That’s another story.
Russell Knox was in golf’s deepest bunker and later took to Twitter clarifying he had Na idea what was going on 25 feet above him. But as we see in video posted by the PGA Tour Twitter account, Na has hit his approach, left it, is standing just a few feet off the green and can be heard rooting for Knox’s shot to hit his ball (“hit my ball”). Thanks to reader Gray for noting this shot, only seen while Playing Through during second round American Express action:
You know the drill by now. Backstopping is the scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours weirdness that has been endorsed by those yearning for some sort of club membership in the world of professional golf.
The practice seemingly subsided since last February’s embarrassing episode featuring Amy Olson and Ariya Jutanugarn. But as fans have come to understand the strange little practice, they don’t like it.
Just check out the overwhelming number of to a magnificent bunker instead focusing on Na’s actions. A sampling screen capture:
In a week where cheating in sports has been dominating news and social media as the Patrick Reed situation lingers, logic dictates that players and officials are on heightened alert for anything that could be misconstrued. Nope.
Now imagine in the near future when sports gambling is legal and Na is heard rooting for another player’s ball to hit the one he purposely left near the hole. Given the reactions to this shot to the PGA Tour’s Tweet there will be an outcry or worse, gamblers wanting inquiries and refunds.
All of this would be a non-issue if Na merely walked the six or seven paces to slap a coin down behind his ball. But pretty soon, if not already given what’s going on in sports, this bizarre cultural practice will be put in a different spotlight. And not one with soft lighting or minor consequences.
