Inkster's penalty was harsher than Johnson's, too. Johnson was penalized two strokes when he grounded his club in a bunker on the final hole of the PGA Championship last week, having failed to realize he was in a bunker.
Inkster was disqualified from the LPGA Safeway Classic following Saturday's second round of play.
Inkster, 50 years old, one of the LPGA's greatest players and certainly one of the most knowledgeable players, had, like Johnson, a temporary lapse of good sense. During the second round of the Safeway, Inkster reached the 10th tee to find a backup of several groups waiting to play.
During the wait, she gave an on-course interview to the Golf Channel. She milled around. She tried to stay loose by swinging a club. And that's where the problem occurred. Inkster slid a weighted "donut" onto a 9-iron and began swinging it. Such devices are not uncommon in golf and other sports such as baseball, where adding weight to a club can help a player loosen up.
Unfortunately for Inkster, the use of such devices is prohibited during a round of golf by Rule 14-3 (Artificial Devices and Unusual Equipment). You can use a training aid in the practice areas to help you achieve proper alignment, for example, but you can't set it up on the No. 10 tee during your round to make sure you are aimed correctly.
Weighted clubs are training aids, and adding that weighted donut to her club put Inkster in violation of Rule 14-3. And the penalty for that is disqualification.
Inkster's violation wasn't noticed by rules officials at the time it occurred, and she finished a round of 67 to stand three strokes off the lead. But the violation was noticed by a television viewer who called it in. LPGA rules officials confirmed the infraction and informed Inkster following the round that she was disqualified.
Unfortunately, these things happen in golf, even at the very top levels of golf, as we've seen a couple times recently. They even happen to Hall of Famers who should know better. So the next time you break a rule, call a penalty on yourself, but don't beat yourself up over it. Just take out the rule book when you get home and refresh your knowledge.
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Comments
Why does the PGA/LPGA take callins from tv viewers during tournaments. If they can’t have their people there they should not take calls from tv viewers.
I believe that rule 14 is ment to be connected with “Hitting a ball” and 14-3 artifical devices while hitting a ball! Comon, she was just warming during long wait, and even not on the tee.. The problem with D.Jonson was different, thanks to the spectators he did not even thought, that he was in a bunker – and ge was supposed to be informed by his caddie, 2 strokes penalty was ok, but disqualification of Inkster was NOT OK.
I agree with Martin. Rule 14-3 is titled “Striking the Ball”. She was not striking the ball, addressing the ball or in any in the act of Striking the Ball. There is such a concept as reading things in context and the interpretation of these words and the rule certainly appears to be taken completely out of context. I’d be curious to know if the rule has ever been used this way and what the intent was when it was written.
It is time for the Rules committee to take another look. We have had three occasions when an “infraction” was either peculiar (That was a bunker?) or someone not even on the course calls in an infraction when neither the other players in the group, the caddys, or the on-site tour officials saw anything wrong(Inster and Wie). Errors should be called on-site, during play and by a qualified official “at the time it happens”.
not sure what the fuss is about … the inkster ruling was plain as day. 14-3 and the decisions on 14-3 are as straightforward as can be. what’s surprising is that someone as experienced as inkster would make that mistake.
as for johnson and the pga, it’s ridiculous to say that’s not a bunker. it was built as a bunker, it was categorized as a bunker all week, played as a bunker all week, the little shot tracer graphic after johnson’s shot showed the ball in a bunker, the long shot from above and behind before johnson reached the ball made clear it was a bunker, and lastly, if you have any doubt it was a bunker, see the photo in golf world this week — the lip is obvious. it was a bunker! get over it people
DJ had a brain freeze, simple as that. and so did inkster. the penalties were harsh, but in both cases it was solely the fault of the players involved.
Get it right dave, Shot Tracker wasn’t on. And as a matter of fact is never on during a major. But you are right it was a bunker because the course designer and PGA said so
Didn’t say Shot Tracker – said Shot Tracer, the little CBS toy that shows the ball flight.
But doesn’t matter what Shot Tracer showed or anything else, really, because for almost all of four rounds every other player in the field managed to play under the “every bunker is a bunker” ruling without problem. Until DJ – who I wish had won the tournament, I’m not anti-DJ – had his brain freeze.
you can disagree with the decision to rule that what on whistling straits, but by the final hole of round 4 it’s too late to change just because you like DJ.
personally, i think whistling straits needs to be totally re-done. the course wouldnt look any less cool with fescue completely covering up 900 of those 1000 bunkers.