Tiger Woods Not Fined for Comments at Bridgestone
Written August 11, 2009 by Jack Jones
Yahoo! Sports originally reported on Monday that Tiger Woods would be fined by the PGA Tour for comments he made about a rules official for putting he and Padraig Harrington on the clock on the 16th hole. A tour official reportedly said there would be a fine for Woods saying to Harrington, “I’m sorry that John got in the way of a great battle”. However, Woods has now said, “I’ve heard from the tour and there’s no fine. That was an erroneous report”.
The John he was referring to is European Tour chief referee, John Paramor, who was the official who put the pair on the clock, which Woods believed caused Harrington to rush on the par 5-16th, resulting in a triple bogey, helping to solidify Woods’ victory at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Paramor made the decision because the two were 17 minutes out of position and had been playing well behind on most of the back 9.
Woods added about the ruling, “I don’t think that Paddy would have hit the pitch shot that way if he was able to take his time, look at it, analyze it, but he was on the clock, had to get up there quickly and hit it.”
According to section VI-D in the PGA Tour’s player handbook: “It is an obligation of membership to refrain from comments to the news media that unreasonably attack or disparage tournaments, sponsors, fellow members, players, or the PGA Tour.”
The good news for Woods is that Ty Votaw, spokesman for the tour, has confirmed that no fine is forthcoming, saying, “The information that was conveyed to the reporter was inaccurate. There has been no process started with respect to any disciplinary action. Based on the reports we have read, Tiger’s comments related to the impact of the decision. We did not read them as being an unreasonable attack or disparaging.”
Harrington has be gracious in defeat, not using the ruling as an excuse for finishing behind Tiger. “I reacted poorly to the situation, and that’s my own fault,” he said.
The next big tournament for the tour is the PGA Championship, starting August 14th. Not surprisingly, Tiger Woods is the overwhelming favorite over the rest of the field, being listed at +150 odds. Other notables include Phil Mickelson at +1500 and Padraig Harrington at +2500. You can bet on who will win the 2009 PGA Championship at Sportsbook.com.
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
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