Quote:
Originally Posted by biker1
Hardly a similar situation with Dustin Johnson. By the way, the marshals are not responsible for preemptively reminding PGA players of the rules. Dustin Johnson could have asked for a clarification but didn't. Also, the fact that those sandy areas were considered sand traps was communicated to the players at the start of the tournament.
In this case, why did the ambassador apparently think the player was ignorant of the game of golf? I try to assume people know what they are doing until they demonstrate otherwise. The ambassadors should do so also. From the information presented by the original poster, that doesn't appear to be what happened. Since neither of us were there, I would suggest that further speculation is futile.
At many courses, the starter will give "friendly reminders" to each group before they tee off. These are typically things such as fix your ball marks, fill divots with sand, rake the traps, which holes are cart path only, maintain pace of play, etc. Further comments should be limited to when actual infractions are observed.
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All true, but I always wondered why the rules official was on the left side of the fairway with a player that was out of contention when the leader was 50 yds. right of the fairway. A rules official is permitted to give facts, and could tell the player "That is a bunker"--he doesn't HAVE TO. I can understand DJ getting caught up in the moment despite multiple warnings posted about the quantity and nature of the traps on that course, but what was HIS CADDY thinking?
As far as pre-emptive reminders at TV courses go, I just don't see the harm. I've played a long time, played competitively when I was younger including some pro events (not PGA tour
), and I would never react negatively to such a reminder from an ambassador---a simple thank you suffices