Lexi Thompson a victim of armed robbery

[Shadowlight]

She is 22 and pretty and white and one of golf's rising stars. She was on her way to a victory at the first Women's Major ( they actually have 5 and I think the men's tour and tennis for that matter should consider 5 Majors) the A.N.A Inspiration when some weasel sitting at home e- mailed golf officials that she had committed a rule violation on the green by improperly placing her ball. Golf officials huddled and determined there was a violation and gave her a four stroke penalty thus killing her victory which was at hand and eventually paving the way for So Yeon Ryu to win. The entire golf world is royally pissed off over the situation as they should be. Remember the Dustin Johnson scenario last year where golf officials left him in the lurch regarding another minor infraction. This is total BS and the violation was so minor it is ridiculous that the head in the sand golf officials acted on it. Poor girl. At least she has a lot of people on her side.

 

[Don Wassall]

Lexi was penalized 2 strokes for placing her ball a quarter inch from where it should have been, and then 2 more strokes for signing an incorrect scorecard. In spite of that she still made it to the playoff before losing. I can possibly see the penalty for the ball placing infraction, but the two stroke penalty a day after the fact for signing an incorrect scorecard seems unfair. If she had been made aware of the infraction before the round ended then she would have adjusted her scorecard to reflect the two stroke penalty.

Also, bad sportsmanship by Ryu to jump in the pond after winning. It's a tradition at what used to be the Dinah Shore Classic, but given the circumstances she should have refrained.

BTW, I agree with Shadowlight about the majors. Three of the four are in the U.S.; one or preferably two more should be added, one in Europe and one in Asia. There were six majors at one time, with the U.S. Amateur and the British Amateur having major status. Jack Nicklaus at one time was credited with winning 20 majors (including two U.S. Amateurs) rather than the 18 he's recognized for now.

 

[white is right]

I wonder if a similar situation arose in a men's tournament could a sharp bettor do this to influence a tournament? The odds of something like this arising and it being a scenario to influence a bet is pretty low but this rat fink emailing the LPGA shouldn't be allowed just for this reason. I know golf changes it's rules as much as the Vatican changes the rules for Catholicism but this rule needs to be modernized.

 

[Jack Lambert]

I'm in agreement with white is right. This rule is ridiculous and should be taken out. In no other sport can a viewer email the offices for something that had happened the day before. This should've been a total non-issue, and once the scorecards were signed, that should been the end of it. I know a lot of golfers came to her defense at the Masters this week, including Phil and Fowler to name a few. Tiger Woods actually came to Thompson's defense as well.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Lexi was penalized 2 strokes for placing her ball a quarter inch from where it should have been, and then 2 more strokes for signing an incorrect scorecard. In spite of that she still made it to the playoff before losing. I can possibly see the penalty for the ball placing infraction, but the two stroke penalty a day after the fact for signing an incorrect scorecard seems unfair. If she had been made aware of the infraction before the round ended then she would have adjusted her scorecard to reflect the two stroke penalty.

Also, bad sportsmanship by Ryu to jump in the pond after winning. It's a tradition at what used to be the Dinah Shore Classic, but given the circumstances she should have refrained.

BTW, I agree with Shadowlight about the majors. Three of the four are in the U.S.; one or preferably two more should be added, one in Europe and one in Asia. I'm pretty sure there was six majors at one time, with the U.S. Amateur and another tournament having major status. Jack Nicklaus at one time was credited with winning 20 majors rather than the 18 he's recognized for now.

Yes. I can see where she should have been penalized. I just watched it. She should have known better. I really don't understand how she could have made that mistake. She marked the ball to the side. You always mark the ball from behind. So when she replaced the ball, she placed it in front of the marker, thus moving the ball forward. I probably wouldn't have noticed by watching live and even if I did, I wouldn't call in. I'm not trying to be an A$$Hole, but the integrity of the game has to be maintained. It's one of the few things we have left that tries to. The old saying, "Character is what you do when no ones looking."

 

[Shadowlight]

Lexi was penalized 2 strokes for placing her ball a quarter inch from where it should have been, and then 2 more strokes for signing an incorrect scorecard. In spite of that she still made it to the playoff before losing. I can possibly see the penalty for the ball placing infraction, but the two stroke penalty a day after the fact for signing an incorrect scorecard seems unfair. If she had been made aware of the infraction before the round ended then she would have adjusted her scorecard to reflect the two stroke penalty.

Also, bad sportsmanship by Ryu to jump in the pond after winning. It's a tradition at what used to be the Dinah Shore Classic, but given the circumstances she should have refrained.

BTW, I agree with Shadowlight about the majors. Three of the four are in the U.S.; one or preferably two more should be added, one in Europe and one in Asia. I'm pretty sure there was six majors at one time, with the U.S. Amateur and the British Amateur having major status. Jack Nicklaus at one time was credited with winning 20 majors (including two U.S. Amateurs) rather than the 18 he's recognized for now.

Thanks for getting more detailed Don, I was unaware of all those details and that explains the four stroke penalty. She kind of got hit by a double jeopardy which is a good thing to point out . Truly seems unfair. As for Carolina's point about sportsmanship I agree. Cheating is not something we should accept. In Lexi's case it could have been simply a brain freeze but we don't know. But I think many will agree that this process where weasel finks can e- mail "rule violations" is not the best way to determine who wins majors.