It was an honest mistake... there's no question about that... but a mistake it was. A rather monumental one, as it turned out, for Michelle Wie.Because when she momentarily stepped outside of the scoring tent on Friday without signing her scorecard, Michelle took with her not only a decent chance at winning her first LPGA tournament, but also a likely automatic exemption for all LPGA tournaments in 2009.
But rules are rules, and rule 6-6, is one of those in place to ensure the integrity of golf's honor system. The incident happened after Friday's round, but Michelle played her full round on Saturday, shooting a 7 under 65 and coming to within one stroke of leader Yani Tseng, before being informed that she was out. The delay was due it seems to a communications issue.
Can you imagine how crushing that must have been? You'd be reliving the moment over and over, trying to figure out how you managed to overlook such a basic step. One you've automatically taken after each and every tournament round... except this one. And that would be torture.
But Michelle pulled herself up and went out and spoke reporters. And she did so with candor and humility at what must have been one of the most traumatic moments in a career that's been rife with controversy.
Reactions to this latest incident have come in along party lines, so to speak; with diehard Wie fans criticizing the rules for being too draconian, or slamming their enforcement for being too unbalanced, or dissing the LPGA for... being the LPGA. At the same time, equally committed Wie haters have added "careless rules flaunter who got caught in the act" to the long list of things to hate about Michelle.
In the end, I think it was simply a life lesson, albeit a really tough one, for an 18 year old who's own life and career have moved at lightning speed; the old cross your t's and dot your i's lesson. The one that says the devil is in the details...the often mundane details. We've all gone through it...We've all overlooked a tiny little detail, that ended up having great big consequences. Meticulous two time British Open Champion, Padraig Harrington apparently made the same mistake...and unsigned scorecard...in 2000. So there.
I don't think this occurrence is going to have a catastrophic effect on Michelle Wie's career, or her future. I think she'll reflect on this and get back to doing what she has to do to play golf at a highly competitive level again, the route may be a bit more circuitous due to this error, but I have no doubt she'll take it and I look forward to seeing where she ends up.
What do you think of all this. Of the rule, of the incident, of Miss Michelle Wie?
photo - LEE MILNER / Associated Press
Personally I think the rule is pretty stupid then again I am non golfer really. I feel like they knew she was in it and she was not attemping any funny business so why should they kick her out?
ReplyDeleteI still see Michelle Wie as a golfer who was given too much with too little effort put forth and this "forgetting" to sign her card seems to be a result of that.
ReplyDeleteHard for me to comment, GG, not being an avid Wie fan, myself. I confess to not knowing enough about her to have an informed opinion. She's so young, I seriously remember her saying the "The Disney Channel" was one of her favs. I also remember an unfortunate incident involving her Dad, who was her caddy at the time. But growing up is always a difficult process, moreso under the spotlight. She's clearly a phenom - now it's matter of how she manages her extraordinary talent. What I DO like? Her sense of being able to compete with anyone, including the men. No fear, and that's a true competitor. Life lesson this incident was, and it can only make her more conscientious in the future. And that's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of the rule...I think a warning for such a violation should be a prerequisite to the boot! Btw...I like your site, very interesting and fun reading!
ReplyDeleteThe rule needs to be revisited for professional tournaments. Between TV, Shot Link, reporters, and thousands of fans, everybody knew what her score was. It's not the Podunk club championship where the only witnesses are the players themselves. Yes, there has to be a procedure, but picayune details like where exactly you signed your card have to go. It's also an indication of their sloppiness that they let her begin the 3rd round, THE NEXT DAY!, before they realized there was a problem. Who got DQ'd from the LPGA officials in attendance? Her caddie should be fired though as that duty ranks right behind counting clubs.
ReplyDeleteDid you know you don't have to total your scorecard? All that's required is the proper score for each hole.
I Agree with Mark and Bobbio that the rule needs some scrutiny. And it should probably be adapted. It seems unnecessarily punative not to have a warning.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, it must have been devastating for her to be so close to winning a tournament at a time when winning would mean so much. And then have that happen.
I feel bad for her - not that the rules should be changed - but she's so young.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine got dq'd at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am a couple years ago because his pro partner signed an incorrect scorecard. He was leading amongst the amateurs at the time...
Jay - think of it as something like signing your name to a contract, or to a test paper in school. Signing the scorecard has always been a part of the honor system of tournament golf. You write down your scores, and at the end of the round, you sit down and double check to make sure you wrote down the right numbers - then you sign your name saying that you did what you are supposed to do to calculate the right score. You can sit there as long as it takes to make sure you get it right - but in the end, it's that signature that matters. You can't leave the area and change the numbers - you do it right after your round. Cheating of any kind isn't allowed or acceptable - and neither are mistakes - no exceptions. (technically, you aren't even responsible for writing the total correctly - just the 18 hole scores) Everyone is expected to do it because no one is bigger than the game - and the honor of the game has to be upheld.
ReplyDeleteI've seen amateurs at what is supposed to be a "fun" event hover around outside the scorers table looking at final scores, then make changes to their own team's scorecard so they win. Pretty sick, I know.
Ok GG - here's one to mull over...I can almost guarantee that at least one person in the psych department will write some sort of paper theorizing that subconsciously, Wie didn't sign that scorecard on purpose. Maybe she got scared of being in position to lead on Sunday. Maybe she didn't know how to handle what was coming...who knows what other psychobabble could be tossed around in a discussion like that.
ReplyDeleteSomeone will say that there are no coincidences, and there are no "mistakes" like this. there is always a reason people do what they do. Personally, it makes my head explode thinking about all the possibilities that can't be proven. (then Bob Rotella can write another book) :-)
I am a huge fan of the LPGA, and one of my favorites is Michelle Wie. The LPGA have rules and all the players are aware of them. It is unfortunate that this happened to Michelle especially when she was contending for her first win. Some of these scoring tents are located adjacent to the 18th green and can get quite congested with fans and autograph seekers. I would suggest that the LPGA go to trailers like the PGA, this may improve on security and a bit of privacy for the ladies.
ReplyDeleteI am picking Michelle Wie to win at the CN Canadian Open in August.
The rules aside, it's good to see her play a couple of decent rounds consecutively.
ReplyDeleteI hope she does get her game and life pointed in the right direction and flowing nicely, because she'd be good for the LPGA.
Rules are rules and mistakes are mistakes. I feel bad for her because it obviously was an honest mistake, but it's part of her job and until the LPGA makes it easier for them to verify and sign their cards when their rounds are complete without so much distraction, then she will have to learn from this mistake and try and not to do it again. Ouch! I would like to see all the Tours incorporate a 24 hour rule. If a mistake is found with your scorecard, you are given 24 hours to correct it. If you don't correct the problem within the 24 hour period, then you would be DQ'd.
ReplyDeleteFor the "Rules are rules" afficiandos...It used to be a rule that women couldn't vote.
ReplyDeleteI tend to think of Michelle Wie as an arrogant, immature girl who often feels like she's above the rules.
ReplyDeleteShe's only 18 and I'm sure this was difficult for her but maybe it will teach her a lesson. Namely that in golf no one is above the rules.
Count me in the "rules are rules" camp. The same thing happened to Brittany Lincicome not so long ago and I can't recall an outcry then.
ReplyDeleteI do believe some of the LPGA's rules should be revisited, such as their policy on which winnings count for non-members and their limiting the U.S. qualifier for the Women's British Open to LPGA members (both of which have screwed over another promising young American, Stacy Lewis). But this one is way less ambiguous than the slow play penalty on Angela Park when she was in contention in Hawaii. There's no judgment call involved here: did Wie sign the card before she left the scorer's tent, or not? If not, the penalty is clear.
And, I think, justified. You put your signature on a check, a contract, a marriage license, and on a scorecard in tournament golf. How else is a player supposed to verify/certify that this indeed is what I shot on each hole? If the scorecard is wrong through error or cheating, you either have to live with the higher score or be DQed. Intent is too difficult to sort out--every cheater will claim it was an honest mistake--so you need a strong penalty to deter cheating. But if the card isn't signed, it's not really yours. It's just numbers your playing partner wrote down.
Of course I feel terrible for Michelle, but imagine if the LPGA hadn't done what they did, she won the tournament, and then it came out later that they had bent the rules for her. They've done that too much in the past for her.
I don't know what happened in the scorer's tent, but the commenters over at Shackelford's blog seem convinced there were only volunteers in it. Regardless, the answer is training: the person taking the card should always ask if there are 2 signatures on it.
It's horribly bad luck that Michelle and the person who took her card both vapor locked and that nobody realized the mistake until it was too late to correct and too late to penalize speedily. I wouldn't draw any large conclusions from such a random event.
Yes, rules are rules. They are what keeping the game of golf a highly respected sport. But poor that the officials did not react promptly. Then again, Michelle is still very young and the future is there for her ...
ReplyDeleteI was happy that Michelle seems to have reorganized herself and gotten some joy back in playing. The mistake was hers, and unfortunate, but the scorers must also bear some responsibility. Their ONE job is to make sure the players have filled out the scorecards correctly. If someone was watching the process and she got up to leave, it would have been so easy to stop her prior to leaving the tent. It makes me think that the fault was partly with the scorers. And, they waited until she finished round 3 to figure it out? Ludicrous.
ReplyDeleteThai - the officials DID react properly. In fact, they went beyond what they are allowed to do, and that's what caused the entire mess. They chased Wie down outside the ropes and handed her a pencil. That's not allowed. Once the player leaves, that's it. If they had not allowed her to sign her card, they would've called her that afternoon and told her that she was DQ'd. Instead, they had to investigate and make sure they had their facts straight - and by that time, she was on the course.
ReplyDeleteThe officials are not there to make sure the player signs their card - that is completely the responsibility of the player. It's not a mystery - it's not some secret given out to players with a Tour card - it's a rule - and Wie screwed up. I'm guessing she'll never forget that one again. (then again - she admitted that she hasn't read and doesn't know the rules of golf - so what can you expect ?)
I am beginning to suspect that Michelle may be suffering from the Judas Syndrome
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It is just another sign of how old fashioned the golf rules truely are. I like the game of golf and I like good behaviour on a course but some of the rules are just way to old fashioned.
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