4:36 PM Mon, Jul 21, 2008 | Permalink
Carleton Cole
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It's easy to find fault the way Michelle Wie has played professional golf, but this past weekend she has a point.
Wie was disqualified for not signing her scorecard after the second round of the LPGA tour event in Springfield, Illinois.
It's a stupid rule, and one which should have been changed years ago.
When professional golf wasn't shown on tv, and players were "on their honor" the practice was necessary. Today that's not the case. Not only are the scores broadcast on television, they are shown on screens all around the courses during the events. Everyone knows who's on the leaderboard, and where people stand. There is no guessing game.
Wie was signing autographs just a few feet from the scoring tent when she was told of her error. It was an honest mistake but the penalty did not fit the crime.
I realize golf has a lot of rules. But so do other sports. It took awhile, but replay is now pretty much the norm in the NFL, NHL, and it's coming to major league baseball.
With all the technology, counting strokes should not be left up to a pencil and a thin piece of cardboard. That might be fine for Saturday afternoon with your buddies, but in professional golf were talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars, as well as the money made from endorsements.
Moving a ball for a better shot is cheating. Failing to sign a scorecard is not.
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