| | A Ryder Cup Rules Primer September 14, 2008
By Larry Startzel
With theRyderCup beginning this week atValhallaGolf Club inLouisville,Ky., PGA of America rules officialLarryStartzelprepared a primer that explains the format and some past
decisions,as the USGA's Rules of Golf has been
applied.
The three days of match play competition at the Ryder Cup
consist of three forms of play. They are Fourball, Foursome
and Singles. Fourball and Foursome are played Friday and
Saturday, two matches per day, and Single Matches are
conducted on Sunday.
According to the official Ryder Cup site, each team captain
independently submits the order of play for his team to the
appointed tournament official. The lists from each captain
are matched, resulting in the pairings. Please note that the
players in pairings can be modified by the team captains only
if a player is ill or injured. Pairings are subject to change
and should not be considered final until play begins for a
particular match.
 | | Players aren't used to match play Rules
situations. (USGA Museum) |
In referencing the definitions in the front of the USGA's
Rules Book, the following apply: Fourball is a match in which
two players play their better ball against the better ball of
two other players. Foursome is a match in which two
competitors play against two other players and each side
plays one ball. Single is a match in which one player
competes against another player.
There are a few potential Rules problems with the first two
forms of play. Probably the greatest overall Rules problem is
that the players compete in stroke play competitions in their
professional career and the nuances of match play do not
exist for them.
Two Fourball situations come to mind. Both happened at Oak
Hill in 1995. Peter Jacobsen picked up a tap-in putt because
he thought his partner had already holed out for par, when in
reality he made bogey. Jacobsen's miscue cost the side the
hole.
In a match I was refereeing, Fred Couples had hit a ball into
the water on a fifth hole and was lying four on the putting
green. In the meantime, the other three players were on the
green in two strokes. Couples, who was farthest from the
hole, had marked and lifted his ball. He was standing off to
the side of the green and appeared to be disinterested in
playing out. Davis Love III, Couples' partner, was 5 feet
from the hole; the two Europeans were farther away. The
European side went to play, but since Couples' coin was still
on the green - marking the position of his ball - the side
was actually away. This allowed Love to play first, since the
side may play in the order they feel best. He made his birdie
and the Europeans missed. They both assumed Couples had
picked up his ball and that they would be able to play before
Love.
In Foursome play, USGA Decision 29/3 cites side A/B. A
practices on the last putting green played after partner B
drives from the next teeing ground, and the side loses the
hole for a breach of Rule 7-2. In USGA Decision 29/5, A
leaves his sand shot in the bunker and in disgust hits the
sand with his club. Since in this Rule the word
"player" includes his partner where the context so
admits, the side loses the hole for a breach of Rule 13-4.
The final tricky part of Foursomes is that penalty strokes do
not affect the order of play. The referee has to stay alert
as to who plays next.
Order of play may be the biggest issue in the matches. The
Rules are black and white, yet deciding who is away can seem
subjective at times. In the Solheim Cup Matches a few years
ago, a stroke was recalled by a player when her opponent
played out of turn. It is imperative for a referee to be
extremely alert as to who is away. There is a fine line
between being present and unobtrusive and being on top of
things.
Ryder Cup referees practice preventive officiating, so
hopefully most Rules situations are headed off before they
happen.
Larry Startzel, who will represent the PGA of America as a
referee at this week's Ryder Cup, served as a consulting
member on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee. He also is a past
chair of the PGA of America's Rules Committee and past
head referee for the Ryder Cup
.
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