Different Strokes
“I want to be 70, playing golf, and just loving it, just the excitement of it all. The possibility of it getting better is far more interesting to me than the realisation that it’s never going to get better than this.”
Lowry opts out
Shane Lowry has resisted the temptation to add this week’s European Tour stop in Johannesburg to his schedule, despite occupying the most perilous position on the official world rankings heading into the final week of competition before the cut-off point for the megabucks WGC-Accenture Matchplay championship.
Lowry is currently 64th in the world listings, with the top-64 after this week’s JoBurg Open and ATT Pebble Beach Pro-Am earning precious tickets into the matchplay. Lowry has a meagre 0.01 point average to spare over Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger – who is next in the rankings – but has a small safety net in that in-form Phil Mickelson is set to miss out in favour of a family holiday and also that 66th ranked Miguel Angel Jimenez is out of commission following a broken leg occurred in a skiing accident.
If Lowry manages to stay at 64th place in the rankings and earn a debut appearance in next month’s matchplay, his reward will be a first round encounter with world number one – and Horizon Sports stablemate – Rory McIlroy. A case of being careful what you wish for?
The rules . . .
Q In strokeplay, A and B both started with 14 clubs. They were using the same model of clubs and similar golf bags. At the 4th hole, B’s caddie inadvertently took one of A’s clubs from A’s bag and gave it to B, who made a stroke with it. B’s caddie placed the club in B’s bag. At the 6th hole, B’s caddie discovered the error. What is the ruling?
A Rule 4-4a states: “The player must not start a stipulated round with more than 14 clubs. He is limited to the clubs thus selected . . . ”. B complied with the first sentence of Rule 4-4a. However, when B made a stroke with A’s club, he did not comply with the second sentence and was subject to penalty under Rule 4-4a for using a club selected for play by another person playing on the course. Upon discovery of the breach, B was required immediately to declare the club out of play under Rule 4-4c. He incurs a penalty of two strokes for making a stroke with that club on the 4th hole. As B did not intend to add the club to the clubs he had selected for the round, he incurs no additional penalty for having carried it until the breach was discovered at the 6th hole. A may retrieve the club to use during the remainder of the round.
Quote of the Week
I change it every day. I changed my golf swing this week. That’s what I do: I get up in the morning, and I change. That’s who I am.” – Pádraig Harrington in starting a 1,800-word reply to a six-word question wondering if he had changed his golf swing.
Number of the week
525,821
The official attendance at the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona, more than seven times the number that managed to get into the SuperDome in New Orleans for Superbowl XLVII.
