A missed opportunity? Furyk's slow play

[Phil McDade]

Hijacking from another thread....

Not long ago, Morgan Pressel was assessed a penalty in an important tournament, which arguably changed the outcome of the match. Much huzzahs from the GCA board.

Shouldn't the same thing have happened to Furyk late in his round Sunday?

If the USGA was truly interested in checking slow play, shouldn't they have assessed Furyk a penalty? Shouldn't they have done it when it mattered most -- when he's tied for the lead, or near it, on the back nine of the U.S. Open?

Aren't fines and penalties most meaningful when they are handed out to people irregardless of circumstance? Wouldn't assessing Furyk a penalty on the back nine have sent a meaningful message about the importance of keeping pace, and avoiding slow play? After all, Pressel is a player of lesser stature than Furyk, playing on a lesser Tour, and was assessed a penalty in a lesser tournament.

(Some on the board have suggested the USGA was being mickey-mouse in telling Furyk -- and presumably McDowell -- to pick up the pace of play so late on Sunday. Perhaps it even affected his play. I tend to agree -- I think the USGA never intended to assess either one of them a stroke penalty. Warnings without the true threat of a severe penalty are dubious. I'm picking on Furyk because, to my eyes, he seemed the much slower of the two in the final pairing Sunday.)

[PThomas]

it would have sent a GREAT message Phil but no way they'd have the cajones to actually do it, unfortunately

[Phil McDade]

it would have sent a GREAT message Phil but no way they'd have the cajones to actually do it, unfortunately

So the LPGA has more stones than the USGA? A sad commentary on our world, Paul.

[Tom_Doak]

I tuned in late, but I wondered how it was that the lead group was a hole and a half behind everyone else.  Did they have any rulings that slowed them down?  I know they were grinding on every shot, but wasn't everyone else, too?

No way they were going to assess a penalty in that situation ... not even the staunchest advocates of speeding up play would want to see them change the outcome of a U.S. Open with a late penalty to a popular player on Sunday evening.  Sure, it would make a point on a big stage, but it would almost certainly backfire.  If Furyk is slow -- and I have no idea how slow he is compared to other players normally -- then he should be penalized in the regular tournaments to the point that he speeds up his act, instead of waiting to deliver a crippling blow in an important event.

[Mike Hendren]

There has to be some estoppel theory at work here.  How can the PGA and USGA condone slow play 364.9 days of the year only to change their stance when a national championship hangs in the balance?    The only thing worse than no rules is the arbitrary enforcement of them.  

Mike

[jeffwarne]

When the official uses the words "I'm begging you" as he did to Furyk on 15, I'm prety sure there was no danger/fear of a penalty.
I think they were quite concerned about darkness/fog.
Even though Furyk does the backoff putt thing, I don't think he's any slower than your average pro.

I'm begging you?
Either penalize/time them or don't, but don't beg.
Of course Furyk immediately had the debacle at 16 which didn't speed anything up.

[Bruce Katona]

Michael: How could the blue blazers want to arbitrarily attempt to show enforcement of the slow play rule......very simple:

When in the round was this?  The event was played on the left coast, being broadcast live back east, so it was shown IN PRIME BROADCAST TIME ON A SUNDAY NIGHT IN THE EAST.

Message deleivered to the masses slow play is a no no.  Pure PR.  

I have no idea if the warning; where Furyk says "Thank you" to the official, had any impact on the outcome, but I certainly hope not.  The final pair are both gentlemen and would never say either way.

[Sam Morrow]

I'm sure that in his career Furyk has had these conversations with officials before. I realize it's the back 9 of a major but I really think a veteran like Furyk wouldn't be phased by the warning. Maybe Furyk just couldn't finish this one.

[PThomas]

it would have sent a GREAT message Phil but no way they'd have the cajones to actually do it, unfortunately

well I know the LPGA has a lot of l*#&^!#s Phil,never mind.........

Bogey is right....was that group the ONLY slow group over the 4 days, or the only one that got a warning?  If the latter, than that is ridiculous

and I just read Jeffs post...so was the USGA asking them to speed up for TV or to avoid darkness, or did they give them a warning?

[Phil McDade]

In all honesty, I haven't dug into any newspaper or blogs today to find out exactly what happened. What I recall from the broadcast was that Furyk and/or McDowell were warned late on the back nine -- 15? -- and according to the NBC broadcasters (Maltbie? Koch?) it was their second warning of the day. The commentator went on to say that if pace of play wasn't picked up, they'd be "put on the clock," which I believe under many tournament conditions is the last step before a penalty. If that scenario is correct, then Furyk and Co. would've had three opportunities -- after the first warning, after the second warning, and after being put on the clock -- to speed up play before the assessment of a penalty.

That seems like two too many, for me. One warning, then a penalty.

Tom Doak: Curious --- would it be OK to penalize a less-popular player, like Rory Sabbatini, but not a likeable guy such as Furyk? Surely there's not a greater double-standard than that? Also -- outcomes of US Opens are changed on every shot, depending on how it's played, from the time players tee off Thursday to the time they hole out Sunday. What difference does it make when Furyk is assessed his penalty? It has the same impact on his score Thursday morning as it does Sunday night, doesn't it?

[George Pazin]

There has to be some estoppel theory at work here.  How can the PGA and USGA condone slow play 364.9 days of the year only to change their stance when a national championship hangs in the balance?    The only thing worse than no rules is the arbitrary enforcement of them.  

Mike

Nicely said, Sir Bogey.

[Jason Thurman]

A missed opportunity to turn millions off to professional golf.

Assessing the first penalty since the turn of millenium to the last group playing in the national championship is just ridiculous. God forbid a player back off a putt and cause us to run a Law & Order rerun on a five minute delay.

[Dan_Callahan]

If the USGA is really interested in growing the game, they had to be horrified to see Furyk on the final pairing.

Has there ever been a player who looks like he has less fun on the golf course? Furyk looks absolutely miserable 100% of the time he is playing.

If I had never seen golf before, and watching Furyk was my first exposure to the game, I'd rather pick up something like ultra-marathons or swimming the English Channel ... either of those look more enjoyable than what Furyk was exhibiting.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Were they ever put on the clock?  After NBC mentioned that they had been warned they seemed to play even slower than they had earlier so it had zero effect on them.

[Phil McDade]

If the USGA is really interested in growing the game, they had to be horrified to see Furyk on the final pairing.

Has there ever been a player who looks like he has less fun on the golf course? Furyk looks absolutely miserable 100% of the time he is playing.

If I had never seen golf before, and watching Furyk was my first exposure to the game, I'd rather pick up something like ultra-marathons or swimming the English Channel ... either of those look more enjoyable than what Furyk was exhibiting.

Reminds me of a line from noted curmudgeon Scott Hoch, a fairly accomplished player. Warming up for a round, next to two young pros eager to tackle the day's play, Hoch looked up and asked the pair: "You actually like this game?"

[Richard Choi]

I will start to "Tee Forward" when USGA starts handing out slow play penalties.

[Dan Kelly]

I figured Furyk's deal with 5-Hour Energy had something to do with it.

Seems as though maybe he needed a 6-Hour Energy drink, instead.

[Carl Nichols]

When the official uses the words "I'm begging you" as he did to Furyk on 15, I'm prety sure there was no danger/fear of a penalty.
I think they were quite concerned about darkness/fog.
Even though Furyk does the backoff putt thing, I don't think he's any slower than your average pro.

I'm begging you?
Either penalize/time them or don't, but don't beg.
Of course Furyk immediately had the debacle at 16 which didn't speed anything up.

That official was, I think, Glen Nager, the current President of the USGA.  I didn't watch it a second time (and may do so tonight), but I thought he said "I'm begging them" -- and I wasn't sure to whom he was referring.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Maybe they should start using a shot clock with an audible buzzer, just like the NBA.  If the player doesn't hit his shot before the buzzer then he gets a penalty.  

It would have been interesting if NBC started to display a clock showing how long it takes them to take the shot vs how long they are allowed.

[Garland Bayley]

A missed opportunity to turn millions off to professional golf.

Assessing the first penalty since the turn of millenium to the last group playing in the national championship is just ridiculous. God forbid a player back off a putt and cause us to run a Law & Order rerun on a five minute delay.

But then it would turn back on the tens of millions that have already been turned off by the glacial tour.

[Bill Brightly]

Furyk gets a bad rap due the "back-off move" while putting. He is no slower than the average pro. McDowell was brutally slow, as well. On 18, he had ample time to read his putt from every possible angle while Furyk was hitting sand shots all over the place, but McDowell waited and went through the whole routine when it was finally his turn.

The bottom line is that you can't start arbitrarily enforcing the rule on Sunday of a major, that is not fair to any player. But the USGA and or PGA can and should begin enforcing the "on the clock rules." The players will adjust, just like they deal with any other golf rule.  

[William_G]

If the USGA is really interested in growing the game, they had to be horrified to see Furyk on the final pairing.

Has there ever been a player who looks like he has less fun on the golf course? Furyk looks absolutely miserable 100% of the time he is playing.

If I had never seen golf before, and watching Furyk was my first exposure to the game, I'd rather pick up something like ultra-marathons or swimming the English Channel ... either of those look more enjoyable than what Furyk was exhibiting.

hahaha, yes! He looks like a guy who hates his job! Absolutely hates it.

[BigEdSC]

I've been playing Florida State Golf Association tournaments the past 5 years, since moving from South Carolina.  In every tournament, the staff drills into you that you will be on the clock and that they have a check point at the 9 and 18 greens.  If you don't either get there in your alloted time or within 15 minutes of the group ahead of you putting in the flagstick, it's a one shot penalty.  It has been pretty nice.  Everyone is aware of the circumstances, and of the tournaments I've played in, I have yet to see a problem, not to say that there haven't been any in the tournaments I haven't played in.

I would love to see all of the Tours do this, rather than watching golf referees have the same authority of a WWE referee.

[Brent Hutto]

By the way, of all the places the USGA could address slow play in the US Open the final group on Sunday would not be my first choice. Unfair, arbitrary, yada, yada, yada. But at this point ANYWHERE is better than NOT AT ALL EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, don't you think?

If they had hit the Furyk-GMAC group with a slow play penalty down the stretch on Sunday it would have been a regrettably poor and arbitrary choice of timing. But still a good thing in the larger picture.

No worries, it ain't gonna happen now or ever. I was just momentary taken by dreaming of the possibility.

[Kalen Braley]

As one who follows basketball and refereed at lower levels, (city ball, college intra-mural ball), this argument sounds similar to the one I've heard on players not wanting fouls called in the last minute of the game for fear of "influencing the outcome".

And quite frankly, my reaction has been the same...of course referees change the outcome of a game, thats the point of having a 3rd party official.  Specifically in basketball, you are there to right a wrong as best as you see it.  Why should it matter if you are fouled in the first minute of the game vs the last minute. If a game is lost by only one point, are the 1st two points of the game any less important than the last two? A foul is a foul and the fouled player should get compensation for that.  But because many referees do hold out, its led to abusive practices where players intentionally play rough cause they know they will get away with it.

And I don't doubt for one second that golfers in the US Open, or any other major, do the same because they know they can get away with it too.  If anything, the best time to start enforce something like this is when everyone is watching, not during round 1 of the Tulsa classic that 3 people are tuned into.