Why PGA Tour messed up entire "on the clock" controversy with Tiger Woods
Thanks to all of our readers and tweeters who sent in comments about the “on the clock” controversy on the pivotal 16th hole of Bridgestone in Akron, Ohio. We’ve considered the views and the facts available so far. In the end, we think that the PGA Tour messed up. Here’s why.
(1) Mistake 1: PGA official John Paramor should not have put Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington on the clock on the 16th hole for falling behind allegedly 15 minutes. Tee times are 10 minutes apart. To be 15 minutes behind sounds around 1 hole behind. 1 hole is not much, considering that Tiger Woods draws the greatest fan following on the course, with thousands and thousands of people. The number is even greater on Sunday when Tiger is in the final pairing. Trust us, we’ve been in that following a number of times! It’s a complete zoo. If you want to see for yourseful, just check out the video below. By comparison, the other groups in the tournament have very few fans at all. Some pairings have no fans except their families. If you have ever been to a golf tournament at Firestone, you will know!
So why is the number of fans relevant to the time it takes for Tiger’s pairing to play a round of golf? Well, it’s very simple. Any shot into the gallery requires greater time to manage the crowd. On Sunday, Tiger (and Paddy) hit a number of shots into the rough. Also, you can’t forget that Tiger’s pairing has a huge entourage of security guards, TV cameras, and golf journalists following. It’s a wonder that Tiger’s group doesn’t fall 30 minutes behind given all the crowds.
(2) Even if you don’t want to cut Tiger’s group any slack for crowd control, there is something called judgment. In the NBA, the officials know it’s better that the officials themselves not decide the outcome of the game; the players should. By the 16th hole, it was down to Tiger and Paddy. No one else had a realistic chance of winning. Unless the final pairing were 2 or more holes behind for an extended period of time, putting them on the clock on the 16th hole ran too much of risk that the PGA Official would decide the tournament by disrupting the player’s concentration. Just imagine if you were “in the zone” playing a round of golf and the ranger suddenly appeared on the 16th hole to tell you to hurry up. Paddy Harrington said it forced him to hurry his shots, and Tiger felt that it did, too.
(3) Mistake 2: The PGA Tour should not fine Tiger Woods for 1 critical comment. Not only was Tiger’s comment justified (it wasn’t sour grapes since he won!), it also was a rare criticism by Woods. Tiger hardly ever says anything critical of anybody or anything. He’s done so much for the PGA Tour. If the PGA Tour didn’t like what Tiger said, a phone call from Tim Finchem to Tiger would have been all that was necessary. A fine is excessive.
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