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As of January 1 golf fans are no longer allowed to call in or email possible rule violations that they may witness while watching tournaments broadcasted on television.
The PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, European PGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and the PGA of America are all on board with the decision and have agreed to assign one or more officials to monitor the video broadcast of a competition to help identify rules issues. Professionals such as Lexi Thompson have been affected in the past. A viewer had emailed rules officials about Thompson’s possible infraction during the LPGA’s ANA Inspiration tournament which occurred during the third round. However, it was not verified until the final round. Thompson was penalised two strokes for the infraction and two more for signing an incorrect scorecard. She went on to lose the tournament in a playoff.
When Thompson heard the announcement, she took to Twitter and said: “I applaud the USGA and the R&A for their willingness to revise the Rules of Golf to address certain unfortunate situations that have arisen several times in the game of golf. In my case, I am thankful no one else will have to deal with an outcome such as mine in the future.”
The USGA and R&A have also approved the adoption of a local rule that eliminates the additional 2-stroke penalty for failing to include a penalty on the scorecard when the player was unaware of the infraction. That penalty will permanently be removed when a modernisation of the Rules of Golf takes place on January 1, 2019.
