That's a whole lot of sand he moved. He knew exactly what he was doing it. These guys are good enough to feel the slightest change in their clubs. To say that he didn't think he moved any sand on his backswing, that's insulting.
And it's stupid to pull that stunt when he's in the final group with all the cameras around him.
I wonder how often these types of things happen and nobody ever knows about it because there are no cameras on the group, the hazard is on the other side of the ropes from any fans, the group in question has hardly anyone following them in a smaller tournament, etc ... I would think that most players reaching the professional level are honest, but there are enormous financial pressures in many cases to do whatever it takes to improve your score
Not often is my guess. I've caddied in a bunch of q school tournaments and web.com events...rules officials are brought in often to ask questions. Even from situations like you described where the player is on the other side of the hole and some times they don't even have a caddie.
Ouch...I wonder if he will get pulled aside by veteran players or the tour to "have a talk". This stuff normally gets taken care of privately on tour.
He cant pass this off as "accident" or "didnt know" anymore. I hope this gets taken care publicly or atleast behind closed doors. I'd hope he gets pushed away from team events after this president's club. Golf has no room for people with no character.
Funny part was that after he blatantly improved his lie (twice), he hit an almost perfect shot..... and the golf gods blew that sucker off the green and down the hill into a collection area.
Ouch...I wonder if he will get pulled aside by veteran players or the tour to "have a talk". This stuff normally gets taken care of privately on tour.
He cant pass this off as "accident" or "didnt know" anymore. I hope this gets taken care publicly or atleast behind closed doors. I'd hope he gets pushed away from team events after this president's club. Golf has no room for people with no character.
Uhh, they'd have to boot the P-Cup captain if golf had no room for people with no character. Not that I agree with what Reed did in any way. I think what you mean is golf has no room for cheating the game. You can be a SOB in your personal life, but don't cheat at a game damnit.
You folks do realize he was in a "waste area" not a bunker.....he can ground his club in that area. If you looked at a "head on" video of the two practice swings, you can see it's iffy on if it was an intentional act. You can drag the club back along your line, but you can't improve your lie....the argument is, did he improve the lie? It was ruled he did improve his lie and he accepted the penalty and moved on. That little ***** Euro ****er is using this as leverage for the Presidents Cup. These guys are well aware of all the cameras and the amount of people watching every move they make.
You folks do realize he was in a "waste area" not a bunker.....he can ground his club in that area. If you looked at a "head on" video of the two practice swings, you can see it's iffy on if it was an intentional act. You can drag the club back along your line, but you can't improve your lie....the argument is, did he improve the lie? It was ruled he did improve his lie and he accepted the penalty and moved on. That little ***** Euro ****er is using this as leverage for the Presidents Cup. These guys are well aware of all the cameras and the amount of people watching every move they make.
No one thinks its a problem he grounded his club. Players were taking full practice swings and splashing the sand in the waste areas all week.
Anyone who has ever played a single round of golf knows he improved his lie and that isnt debatable. Intent is irrelevant as thats not how the rule works.
He also has a reputation as a cheater, rumors of him stealing clubs from other players lockers in college etc. He is caught by Peter Kostis cheating at the Barclays in 2016 (a tournament he won).
Also, for the Presidents Cup there are no Europeans. I hope we win handily, but I also hope he loses every match he plays.
He got penalized and took responsibility for the penalty.
I don't see what the big deal is here, other than the backlash for everything Reed does, and the Aussie kid trying to rile up his home crowd for the Presidents Cup.
How is this penalty any different than the thousands of penalties through the years of Professional Golf?
He also has a reputation as a cheater, rumors of him stealing clubs from other players lockers in college etc. He is caught by Peter Kostis cheating at the Barclays in 2016 (a tournament he won).
He got penalized and took responsibility for the penalty.
I don't see what the big deal is here, other than the backlash for everything Reed does, and the Aussie kid trying to rile up his home crowd for the Presidents Cup.
How is this penalty any different than the thousands of penalties through the years of Professional Golf?
Have you not seen the other examples of him doing the same exact thing to improve his lie? You don't find that a little.... curious?
How many of you take a practice swing with the club directly behind the ball?
It happens very often on Tour.
I don't have time to scroll through YouTube videos, but, with irons (and especially wedges), those guys often set up behind the ball and swing right over it.
I've often wondered how they manage to never accidentally hit the ball.