Paramor To Be Asked To Review JFK Zapruder Film After Disqualifying Peter Whiteford

So here’s the story.  Peter Whiteford thinks his ball has moved on the 18th fairway yesterday.  He didn’t see it move and asks the lads aro...

So here’s the story.  Peter Whiteford thinks his ball has moved on the 18th fairway yesterday.  He didn’t see it move and asks the lads around him if they saw anything.  Nobody did.  Plays his shot and thinks nothing more of it.

Meanwhile drunk man in North London comes home from pub and has highlights recorded on Sky plus box.  Sees the incident, rewinds it a few times, determines HIMSELF that Whiteford’s ball has moved and emails a complaint to the European Tour.

Referee John Paramor has his fry up receives the email, looks back at the footage, sees the ball move, even though Whiteford didn’t and promptly disqualifies him.

I’ve stopped the video at the exact moment the ball moved sideways to the right.  Whiteford was looking at the green, the club is hovering. When he looks back down he sees the ball is now aligned more toward the toe of the club.  He doesn’t see the ball move.

 

The Rule

18-1. By Outside Agency
If a ball at rest is moved by an outside agency, there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced.

Note: It is a question of fact whether a ball has been moved by an outside agency. In order to apply this Rule, it must be known or virtually certain that an outside agency has moved the ball. In the absence of such knowledge or certainty, the player must play the ball as it lies or, if the ball is not found, proceed under Rule 27-1.

Rules 2012-2015

Following an exhaustive, four-year review of golf’s 34 playing Rules, nine principal Rules have been amended to improve clarity and ensure penalties are proportionate.  Significant changes include:

•  Ball Moving After Address (Rule 18-2b). A new exception is added which exonerates the player from penalty if their ball moves after it has been addressed when it is known or virtually certain that they did not cause the ball to move. For example, if it is a gust of wind that moves the ball after it has been addressed, there is no penalty and the ball is played from its new position.

Paramor then issues a statement

On the 18th fairway during the third round while playing his approach shot, Peter Whiteford felt that his ball may have moved and for confirmation asked his caddy, a fellow competitor and a TV cameraman, who said they didn’t think it had, and so he continued on to finish the hole and sign his scorecard for 72.

Overnight several viewers contacted the European Tour website saying that Peter Whiteford’s ball had in fact moved on the 18th hole. This was reviewed by the Rules Committee who were able to determine that the ball had in fact moved. Peter Whiteford should have incurred a penalty of one stroke and replaced the ball. As he did not do so, he was disqualified for signing for a score lower than taken for failing to include the penalty he had incurred.

The Rules Committee considered the decision 33-7/4.5 which allows a committee in certain circumstances to modify the disqualification penalty and apply a penalty shot if the player had reasonably known he had incurred a penalty. If Peter Whiteford had contacted a member of the Rules Team before signing his scorecard, the footage would have been reviewed at the time and he would have averted the disqualification penalty.

So what now for the players on Tour

• Should every player check with TV officials before handing in card?
• Is the European Tour going to provide a camera for every player and every shot on Tour?
• Are armchair referees going to be given access to every one of these shots to review?
• Is there going to be a time restriction on when viewers can ring/email to complain?  Say maybe 2 hours after the pubs close?

The Peter Whiteford Ball Moving Video In Full

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