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No Tiger Woods in 2016
The last time we sawTigerWoods competing
on the PGA Tour was the Wyndham
Championship in August, 2015. He missed
the FedEx Cup Playoffs and went home to
Jupiter to practice. Another back surgery
ensued and this time around, he is being
very cautious with his recovery and return
to the rigors of professional tour golf.
He was a vice-captain for Davis Love on
the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team, but
remained in the background. He announced
that he would play in the first event of the
2016-17 season, the
Safeway Classic, as
well as, the Turkish
Airlines Open on the
European Tour, but
at the last moment,
he withdrew. He
is scheduled to play in his Hero World
Challenge in the Bahamas and that will
be the first look at the 14-time major
champion’s game this year.
Many questions remain and 2017 could be a
critical junction in the golf career of Woods.
The Rio Olympics was a Huge Hit
Golf had not been contested
in the Olympics since 1904,
the result was worth the wait.
Inbee Park and Justin Rose earned Gold
Medals for South Korea and England, while
Matt Kuchar, with the Bronze, was the only
American to medal in golf.
Even though many of the big names decided
to skip the games entirely, using the Zika
Virus as an excuse, the stories of lesser
known players, views of the Gil Hanse
designed course and big name international
stars fighting for a Bronze Medal was very
compelling.
We can’t wait for Japan in 2020.
Dustin Johnson beat the Rules
Officials to win the U.S. Open
USGA Rules officials noticed a
slight bobble in Dustin Johnson’s
golf ball on the seventh green
in the final round at Oakmont
Country Club, but did not notify him of
a possible penalty situation until he was
standing on the 14th tee with a tenuous
two-stroke lead. He, as well as, his playing
companion, Lee Westwood and the
attending Rules Official, argued that no
breach of the rules had occurred, but a one-
stroke penalty was added to his score at the
end of his round.
Greens that approach 15 on
the stimpmeter and super slo-
motion cameras, in addition
to, officials viewing video tape
from various angles make these
types of decisions a burden for
players, fans and the game.
This was not an isolated incident in 2016
there were several violations assessed via
video tape after and it affected the outcome
of at least one event.
Rules officials must get a handle on the future
use of video tape and how violations will be
handled in the future, for all parties concerned.