Sportsmanship and The Rules of #Golf

Should there be a compromise between playing by The Rules of Golf and having good sportsmanship?

Controversy was recently stirred at The Solheim Cup by Team Europe's Suzann Pettersen after angrily demanding that Alison Lee be penalized after turning her back and not conceding a two to three-foot putt. Lee picked up the putt after assuming it had been given by Pettersen...but it had not and we all know never to assume.

The Rules of Golf in match play (loosely) state that, unless the putt is conceded, the ball is in play. Team USA lost the match and there were bad feelings all around where there should have been cameraderie and pats on the back on both sides regardless of the Team.

“I hope in time the U.S. team will forgive me and know that I have learned a valuable lesson,” Pettersen said.

What was that valuable lesson?

Pettersen said she was "trying my hardest for my team and put the single match and the point that could be earned ahead of sportsmanship and the game of golf itself!"

Dust-ups like this have a familiar ring to them, for example, in Scotland at the 2000 Solheim Cup, Annika Sorenstam, "charged the Americans with bad sportsmanship in an 'ugly' incident" after being told to replay a shot which she chipped in because she played out-of-turn. USGA states, "While there is no penalty for playing out of turn in match play, the opponent can immediately recall any stroke which is played out of turn and require it to be played at the proper time."

Ah, The Rules of Golf within competitive golf reared its ugly head...perhaps Golf is becoming an Impolite Game?

When playing in your weekly foursome, it's usually polite (and good etiquette) to play "ready golf" and there are concessions made without the fanfare of a "you can take that" or a nod in order to keep the course moving along but what about when there are a trophy and/or a paycheck on the line - does courtesy and sportsmanship take a back seat?

Should there be golf rules for "the rest of us?"

The following video is a joking look from Tripp and Tyler at what would happen if the average golfer would concede to a different set of rules...ENJOY and I understand if you laugh out loud.




Perhaps the heat of the moment brings out the worst in people, or, maybe assuming that the competitor is your friend during a match and will automatically make that "gimme putt" is where the problem lies.

As Pettersen aptly stated, "I am so sorry for not thinking about the bigger picture in the heat of the battle and competition."

Do you think there should be a new rule in the etiquette section allowing two-foot gimmes in competitive match-play golf?

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photo: DailyRecord.uk

HSBC LPGA Golf Stars Issue Olympic Rallying Call

Two of the world’s leading golfers landed in Rio for the HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup with a simple message for the sport: “Next Stop: Olympics - Let’s grab this opportunity with both hands”, Tim Maitland reports.

World number two Suzann Pettersen and number four Cristie Kerr believe Rio 2016 represents a once in a lifetime chance for the sport to establish itself in a country where less than one in every eight thousand people currently play the game.

Less than a week after battling it out in the final of the Sybase Match Play Championship in New Jersey, Pettersen and Kerr sat on lounge chairs sipping glasses of fruit juice on Botafogo Beach, hoping it would be the last occasion they will have time to enjoy Rio de Janeiro’s sun-kissed sand.

“We’ve got five years before we return for the Olympics in Rio and the HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup is the one foundation stone our sport has to build on,” said Pettersen, in the build up to this weekend’s two-day, limited-field event at the Itanhanga Golf Club.

“We can’t miss this opportunity!” declared the Norwegian, who was one of the team that successfully argued the case for golf’s return to the IOC two years ago.

“Sitting in the shadow of Sugarloaf Mountain is spectacular and Rio is stunning, but if we’re going to grasp the Olympic opportunity we have to continue to grow here. We’ve got the best field of women’s golfers Brazil has ever seen, so this week is already a success but we need to keep getting bigger,” added Kerr, aware that golf needs a bigger base than the 25,000 players among the estimated 200 million people who make up the world’s fifth most populous country and a nation that boasts one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world.

Kerr and Pettersen also spent time swapping tips on bunker play with children from the R&A-funded Japeri Project, a community programme that is developing over 100 young golfers from one of the poorer areas of the city.

“Both Brazil and golf needs the kind of top-and-bottom approach that we have traditionally taken with our golf sponsorships in Asia and around the rest of the world. The sport needs growth in number of participants and it needs to spread demographically,” said Giles Morgan, HSBC Group Head of Sponsorship.

“At the top end, the sport needs to grow its profile and to build the profile of the top players. Improving the quality of the leading international tournament in Brazil is one step and the steps are only going to get bigger the closer golf gets to the 2016 Olympics, especially with the rate Brazil’s economy is growing.”

Note: Columbia's Mariajo Uribe won the HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup, which took place the weekend of 28th and 29th May. The Brazil Cup, an unofficial two day event, offered prize money of US$720,000 and attracted four Major champions and twelve LPGA tournament winners in the thirty player field. Uribe won by a single stroke over Lindsey Wright.

Photo Credit: TheGlobeandMail.com


For more information: www.lpgabrasil.com.br

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LPGA Ambassadors on Olympic Golf Mission to Brazil

Three top golfers on the LPGA Tour have decided to become golf ambassadors in order to gain more interest in the sport and to insure future Olympic success.

Cristie Kerr, Suzann Pettersen and Meghan Francella are "on a mission" to Brazil to spread the word about the great golf the LPGA has to offer. The three ladies have committed to play in the HSBC LPGA Brazil Cup at the Itanhanga Golf Club in Rio De Janeiro on May 28/29 partly because golf will be featured in the 2016 Rio Games. The field will be made up of thirty golfers and event purse will be $720,000.


Another reason for Suzann's call to action is because Pettersen was part of the official delegation that successfully presented golf’s "case" to the IOC in Copenhagen sixteen months ago. She believes the HSBC LPGA Brazil Cup has a vital role in growing the popularity of golf in South America before it returns to the Olympic family for the first time since 1904.

Pettersen further said she wanted, "sports fans in Brazil to know who we are and how good we are and we need to build their desire to see us in five years’ time."

More golfers on both the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour should reach out worldwide to grow the game of golf. Greg Norman and Annika Sorenstam attend forums considering ways to attract newcomers and this grass roots approach of going out and gaining fans with the sole purpose of showcasing their talents will go a long way in promoting the sport.

Crisite Kerr said, “This is the biggest single opportunity that women’s golf has ever had! It’s not about who wins the gold medal in five years’ time; it’s about an opportunity to grow and expand the sport more than it has ever grown before"

"We," Kerr maintained, "as the current stars of women’s golf will absolutely kick ourselves if, in ten years time, we can’t look the new young professionals coming through in the eye and say we did everything we could to make being in the Olympics a success. That’s why we need to be in Rio now!”

 
credit: Getty Images

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