Notable Rules Incidents From The 2009 Open Championships
By Wendy Uzelac
The 2009 USGA championship season has given us some memorable and entertaining rulings from the U.S. Open, the U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Senior Open. Here are highlights from each of our three Open national championships, citing incidents first reported on in the “Rules Corner” blogs featured in their respective official Web sites at USOPEN.com, USSENIOROPEN.com and USWOMENSOPEN.com.
U.S. Open, Bethpage State Park (Black Course)
Ian Poulter reached out to his fans via Twitter during this year's U.S. Open, at one point photographing his ball and posting it to his account. (John Mummert/USGA)
Bethpage Black was a soggy mess for most of the U.S. Open Championship and led to many rulings regarding casual water and embedded balls. Quite possibly the most widely publicized incident came on Sunday, June 21, from Twitter addict Ian Poulter, who posted a cell phone photo of his golf ball in the middle of the 10th fairway with mud on it. We couldn’t resist addressing this story in the U.S. Open Rules Corner. Here’s an excerpt:
Ian Poulter’s Cell Phone Photo
…The question that arises is not about the mud, but rather about taking the picture of his ball during play. Believe it or not, it's not a violation.
Rule 14-3 regarding Artificial Devices, Unusual Equipment and Unusual Use of Equipment covers this situation.
Using a camera during a stipulated round to take a picture of mud on his golf ball does not constitute a breach of the rules. Decision 14-3/16 clarifies that it's not a problem under the Rules of Golf, and also addresses the use of other electronic devices taken onto the golf course.
U.S. Women’s Open, Saucon Valley Country Club (Old Course)
The weather was absolutely pristine for the U.S. Women’s Open, held in early July at Saucon Valley in Bethlehem, Pa. This didn’t mean we had fewer rulings than at Bethpage. Saucon Creek, which comes into play on several holes on the Old Course, became the final resting place of many players’ golf balls. Readers of the U.S. Women’s Open Rules Corner had the opportunity to learn about the Water Hazard rule that week.
But not every ruling had to do with negotiating water hazards. In fact, Laura Davies had a most interesting ruling when her ball ended up in the basket of a spectator’s mobility cart. Here is that story:
Basket Catch
During the third round of the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open, Laura Davies’ ball found a peculiar spot on the 15th hole when it landed in the basket of one of the many mobility scooters the USGA makes available for our spectators who need assistance getting around the golf course.
Under the Rules, the scooter is a movable obstruction. The Obstruction Rule tells us that when a ball is in or on a movable obstruction the ball is to be lifted, the obstruction removed and the ball dropped over the spot where the ball lay in or on the obstruction.
A similar situation happened in the 1949 British Open to Harry Bradshaw when his ball landed inside of a broken bottle. Unfortunately, he didn’t know he could get relief from the situation! Here is the video clip of Harry’s situation.
U.S. Senior Open, Crooked Stick Golf Club
And finally, the U.S. Senior Open, conducted July 30-Aug. 2 at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Ind., provided some entertaining situations for comment in the U.S. Senior Open Rules Corner, especially when former U.S. Senior Open Champion Brad Bryant’s ball ended up “behind the behind” of a spectator. Here’s the lowdown on that incident:
Behind A Behind
On the ninth hole of the third round, former Senior Open champion Brad Bryant hit a shot that ended up in a peculiar place. Bryant had his shot to the green end up wedged ‘behind the behind’ of a spectator sitting in a folding chair.
The spectator is considered an outside agency under the Rules and the chair is a movable obstruction. Bryant followed the Obstruction Rule. He had both the spectator and the chair removed from that spot before he dropped the ball over the spot where it had been wedged.
For further reading on the incidents during the three Open championships, I recommend you visit the Rules Corner on the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open Web sites. For additional information about the Rules of Golf, including the Rule of the Day, “Our Experts Explain” Q&A section, interactive quizzes and more, visit the Rules section at www.usga.org.
Wendy Uzelac is the USGA’s director of Rules Education Projects. If you have a question regarding the Rules of Golf, call (908) 234-2300, or click here to send your query via e-mail.