Some stories are stranger than most, and 2017 had some doozies like pro-am injuries, a Torrey “streaker” and an unusual PED violation.
The International Golf Federation retroactively disqualified Switzerland’s Mathias Eggenberger in February from the 2016 World Amateur Team Championship in Mexico after he failed a PED test due to eating contaminated meat. Eggenberger’s sample showed low levels of clenbuterol, a growth stimulant banned by the IGF and used on livestock in Mexico and China.
Bryson DeChambeau began the year putting with a side-saddle stroke, but that quickly changed. DeChambeau was told before the CareerBuilder Challenge that his putter was non-conforming. DeChambeau said he previously submitted several putters to the USGA and only one was ruled non-conforming. The USGA did not comment on why it ruled DeChambeau’s putter non-comforming. He eventually switched to a more conventional stroke and went on to win the John Deere Classic.
It’s not every day a golf tournament is delayed by a missile test, but that’s what happened at the Japan Golf Tour’s ANA Open. The second round was temporarily suspended after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan. Australian Matthew Griffin, who competed in the event, tweeted, “Well this is a first. We currently have a suspension of play in Sapporo Japan due to North Korea launching ballistic missiles.”
College golfers are not allowed to receive cart rides during tournaments - no matter the reason, including for a bathroom break. Northwestern’s Sarah Cho forgot that rule and was penalized two strokes after she caught a ride in a cart to use the restroom. Another player in the group, Kelly Nielsen of Kent State, also was penalized for the same infraction.
In January, The New York Times reported a story about President Donald Trump telling House and Senate leaders in a meeting about how Bernhard Langer was turned away from voting on Election Day. A White House official said the president was actually retelling a story from Langer passed on by one of his friends. But according to Langer, “The voting situation reported was not conveyed from me to President Trump, but rather was told to me by a friend. I then relayed the story in conversation with another friend, who shared it with a person with ties to the White House. From there, this was misconstrued. I am not a citizen of the United States, and cannot vote.” Got it?
Just when you think you’ve seen every crazy ruling, along comes the story of Matthew Southgate and a leaf. Southgate was putting on the 15th hole at the DAP Championship, the third leg of the four-tournament Web.com Tour Finals. The ball appeared to be on line before it was struck by a leaf blowing across the green, which caused the putt to miss wide right. A shocked Southgate knocked in his putt and moved on. But he should have canceled the stroke and replayed his first putt from its original spot. Southgate was penalized two strokes for breaking the rule and two strokes for signing an incorrect scorecard. He also missed out on his Tour card, but he took full responsibility for not knowing the rule.
Ian Poulter got the ultimate mulligan thanks to Brian Gay. The PGA Tour tweaked its FedExCup points distribution for the 2016-17 season, and Gay discovered a discrepancy in FedExCup points that put players on medical extensions like Gay and Poulter at a disadvantage. Basically, Gay and Poulter would have kept their cards under the previous year’s system. Since that was the points list they were being judged against, the Tour decided it was only fair to award them the points under the old system, and they were able to keep their cards for 2017.
Tiger Woods doesn’t usually fly like the rest of us, but he had no choice in January as he prepared to fly to Dubai. Woods couldn’t get to his terminal on time because of protests over President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. So Woods said he decided to hop on a plane and fly commercial for the first time in about 10 years.
Padraig Harrington and Charl Schwartzel both suffered injuries this year caused by their pro-am partners. Harrington was struck on the left elbow by an amateur he was teaching at a clinic, while Schwartzel was struck on the wrist by a ball that bounced off a tree. “I’ve played golf for 28 years now and I’ve never been hit by a golf ball, until this morning,” Schwartzel said at the Valspar.
Harold Varner III captured some interesting video at the Farmers Insurance Open. A fan ran onto the 18th hole and looked like he was going to streak and jump into the water, but he was stopped by security. That’s when the fan made a second effort and leaped into the pond.
