R&A screws the pooch forcing "some" players to go back out to finish R2 this AM and then....

[Bushwood CC]

....reversing course and suspending play indefinitely after some players had played 2 holes while others had played one shot and some had not played any shots before going back in (play was suspended due to sustained 40 MPH winds that were blowing balls around on the greens without players even striking them -- which begs the question, why on earth would you have forced these players out onto the course to play in these conditions only to reverse course creating an unfair situation where some of the groups were forced out immediately and played multiple holes while others were sent out and then told to hold off and never played a shot!). Dustin Johnson gets screwed by a second "organizer" this year -- he was leading the tournament when his 2nd round was suspended yesterday at -10 due to heavy rains. Danny Willet, who finished his round before suspension yesterday, was in 2nd by himself at -9....so they forced Dustin Johnson back onto the course at 7am this morning to finish his 2nd round (btw, he is playing with Jordan Speith who is -5, T15, and Louis Oosthuzien -7, T12) and forcing that group to play on for 2 holes while sending groups out this morning and allowing them to wait whereby they were forced to play NO SHOTS (some groups played 1 shot and went back in), etc... Ultimately, Johnson bogeyed one of the two holes he was forced to play in completely unplayable wind conditions before the R&A suspended play some 20-30 minutes later after some groups were forced to play on, while some were not,....costing DJ a stroke to most of the field and knocking him into a tie for the lead via a completely unfair decision by the R&A. They are going to send this group back out later today to finish their round and have suspended 3rd Round play until tomorrow and 4th Round play to Monday. In other words, it was completely BS to send these players out first thing this morning when they could have waited, as they are now doing, to wait for winds speeds to die down because they have all day now after cancelling the Third Round until tomorrow.

This decision will really be something else if Johnson, given that he was leading when they pulled this BS, ends up losing by a stroke or tied after 72 - one of the most absurd and BS decisions ever to do to a group of players, that included the tournament leader, attempting to finish their rounds who are at the top of the leader board. All players, including Speith, universally said this decision by the R&A was extremely unfair and this absurd decision has cost the leader of the tournament a stroke to most of the field, including the 2nd place golfer, such that he is only now tied for the lead rather than leading outright.

 

[jim cummings]

That's flog for ya.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

I'm sure they did it on purpose just to show off the British sense of humor.

Seriously, hindsight's 20/20.....they made the wrong decision. It happens. Blame Mother Nature, she's the screw-up here.

 

[lionlurker]

If DJ needs that one shot, this will be a massive historic error.

I wonder if they will consider just wiping what happened this morning and starting over entirely.

 

[Bushwood CC]

I'm sure they did it on purpose just to show off the British sense of humor.

Seriously, hindsight's 20/20.....they made the wrong decision. It happens. Blame Mother Nature, she's the screw-up here.

Pretty absurd series of decision-making to send groups out that includes the group with the outright leader as well as a player -7, T5, and -5, T15 to finish their 2nd round (when they already played in awful conditions yesterday afternoon relative to the morning rounds yesterday which included some of the leaders) to finish their 2nd Round, forcing them to play two holes while not requiring some of the groups they sent out to play ANY golf! Then only a half hour later after the LEADER of the tournament has been robbed of a shot to the field in what were clearly UNPLAYABLE CONDITIONS (as evidenced by the fact that multiple groups were NOT FORCED to play on and played ZERO golf during the restart!), they suspend play again sending the leader's group back in having only played 2 holes (again, while many groups were told they didn't have to play any golf???) with 3 holes still remaining in their 2nd Round and being told they are going to be sent out later today after winds die down and conditions are no longer "unplayable" and that they don't have to worry about implications as to whether they will get their 3rd Round in because the 3rd Round has been cancelled until tomorrow and the 4th Round won't be played until Monday??? If that isn't the most absurd, arbitrary, irresponsible and unfair decision-making to the competitors in "Major Championship Golf", I don't know what is. Every player was UNANIMOUS, as were all knowledgeable, former-player, golf analysts and commentators, that the decision-making was egregiously unfair and irresponsible.

 

[bxle]

That was just unplayable. Not everyone gets equal conditions in any tourney, but all should get playable conditions. At this point, I hope DJ doesn't need the extra stroke at the end.

 

[bxle]

BTW, Andy North and Curtis Strange and even Paul Azinger a welcome change after the Fox debacle.

 

[CDLionFL]

Tell us how you really feel, Bushwood. You know why DJ lost that stroke? Yeah, it was the wind. But if he doesn't screw around after duffing his chip on 14 (when he really should have putted it -- another DJ brain fart in a major) and marks his ball, it doesn't blow away and back down the slope forcing him to try to get up and down for par. I'm not exonerating the R&A for sending them out there -- it's really just the 11th hole that is unplayable because it's so exposed and balls get blown all over that green. But hey, it's golf and it's played outside in the elements. This isn't Palm Springs where it's like a dome. Sometimes you get on the good side of the draw and sometimes you don't in this event. It's part of the British Open. If we want to cater to all the spoiled, silver spooners out there then why don't we wait until the wind gets down to 10 mph so it's fair. The R&A was out there on 11 an hour before gametime and balls were staying in place on the green. But then the gusts came up and caused problems. That's weather...it's not as predictable as everyone would hope it is.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

....reversing course and suspending play indefinitely after some players had played 2 holes while others had played one shot and some had not played any shots before going back in (play was suspended due to sustained 40 MPH winds that were blowing balls around on the greens without players even striking them -- which begs the question, why on earth would you have forced these players out onto the course to play in these conditions only to reverse course creating an unfair situation where some of the groups were forced out immediately and played multiple holes while others were sent out and then told to hold off and never played a shot!). Dustin Johnson gets screwed by a second "organizer" this year -- he was leading the tournament when his 2nd round was suspended yesterday at -10 due to heavy rains. Danny Willet, who finished his round before suspension yesterday, was in 2nd by himself at -9....so they forced Dustin Johnson back onto the course at 7am this morning to finish his 2nd round (btw, he is playing with Jordan Speith who is -5, T15, and Louis Oosthuzien -7, T12) and forcing that group to play on for 2 holes while sending groups out this morning and allowing them to wait whereby they were forced to play NO SHOTS (some groups played 1 shot and went back in), etc... Ultimately, Johnson bogeyed one of the two holes he was forced to play in completely unplayable wind conditions before the R&A suspended play some 20-30 minutes later after some groups were forced to play on, while some were not,....costing DJ a stroke to most of the field and knocking him into a tie for the lead via a completely unfair decision by the R&A. They are going to send this group back out later today to finish their round and have suspended 3rd Round play until tomorrow and 4th Round play to Monday. In other words, it was completely BS to send these players out first thing this morning when they could have waited, as they are now doing, to wait for winds speeds to die down because they have all day now after cancelling the Third Round until tomorrow.

This decision will really be something else if Johnson, given that he was leading when they pulled this BS, ends up losing by a stroke or tied after 72 - one of the most absurd and BS decisions ever to do to a group of players, that included the tournament leader, attempting to finish their rounds who are at the top of the leader board. All players, including Speith, universally said this decision by the R&A was extremely unfair and this absurd decision has cost the leader of the tournament a stroke to most of the field, including the 2nd place golfer, such that he is only now tied for the lead rather than leading outright.

There's a reason why this Major produces champions like Todd Hamilton and Ben Curtis more than, say, the Masters.

 

[Bushwood CC]

Tell us how you really feel, Bushwood. You know why DJ lost that stroke? Yeah, it was the wind. But if he doesn't screw around after duffing his chip on 14 (when he really should have putted it -- another DJ brain fart in a major) and marks his ball, it doesn't blow away and back down the slope forcing him to try to get up and down for par. I'm not exonerating the R&A for sending them out there -- it's really just the 11th hole that is unplayable because it's so exposed and balls get blown all over that green. But hey, it's golf and it's played outside in the elements. This isn't Palm Springs where it's like a dome. Sometimes you get on the good side of the draw and sometimes you don't in this event. It's part of the British Open. If we want to cater to all the spoiled, silver spooners out there then why don't we wait until the wind gets down to 10 mph so it's fair. The R&A was out there on 11 an hour before gametime and balls were staying in place on the green. But then the gusts came up and caused problems. That's weather...it's not as predictable as everyone would hope it is.

Complete BS, you don't send players out to play and then FORCE some groups to play in those conditions, while AT THE EXACT SAME TIME OF THE DAY, tell another group to NOT PLAY AND THAT THE CONDITIONS ARE UNPLAYABLE (also preventing all groups behind these players from playing on! Creating a situation where some players were forced to play 3 holes after the restart, some played ZERO HOLES during the "unplayable" restart, some played 1 shot - tap in putts from their marks and then sat on 11-tee while being told conditions were "unplayable" despite others being forced to play on, etc...). You are full of it which is why EVERY SINGLE GOLFER as well as "knowledgeable" commentator/analyst (read former professional players) stated that it was ABSURDLY UNFAIR to the competitors especially the leader of the tournament at the time! They had 4 groups stacked on 11-tee not playing any golf while they forced other golfers, including the group that included the leader, a guy tied for 5th at -7 and a guy tied for 15th at -5, to play-on?!?! Again FORCED THEM TO PLAY ON while telling other golfers AT THE VERY SAME TIME that the course was "UNPLAYABLE AND NOT TO PLAY"!!! You are also full of $hit that the conditions were "playable" where Johnson was - he replaced his ball after marking to putt and the WIND BLEW THE BALL BEFORE HE COULD PUTT IT unfairly costing him a stroke to most of the field including the players directly behind him on the Leader Board -- and EVERY PLAYER interviewed and knowledgeable commentator including all of his fellow competitors interviewed unequivocally stated it was egregiously unfair. Too funny, conditions were "playable" where Johnson was DESPITE the wind blowing his ball and moving it significantly causing him to have a much more difficult putt after he remarked and before he could address the ball to putt - you do realize Einstein that this is precisely what the R&A cited when they told players on 11 not to play and then ultimately stopped play only 20-30 minutes after starting (e.g., "course is unplayable due to high winds that are moving the balls on the greens without being putted")???????

 

[CDLionFL]

You're a gem.

Did you watch DJ on 14 when it happened? He never marked the ball. He pitched it, it sat on the top of the hill. He stood there, took a practice swing, stared at it, walked back to his bag to drop his wedge in and grab his putter and then walked slowly up to the ball. He finally goes up to mark it and just as he's about to put the coin down, he sees the ball oscillating and then it takes off. Soooo, he never replaced his ball because he never marked it in the first place. But that's ok, whatever fits your argument, you can go with it.

I'd love to have this discussion in person just to be entertained by your eyes bulging out of your skull and your face reddening at each passing word. That would be high value comedy.

 

[Connorpozlee]

Should Johnson have marked the ball more quickly? With the benefit of hindsight, he probably wished he had. But you cannot miss the fact that some were playing on a course while other were being told not to because it was unplayable. Patently unfair.

 

[CDLionFL]

Should Johnson have marked the ball more quickly? With the benefit of hindsight, he probably wished he had. But you cannot miss the fact that some were playing on a course while other were being told not to because it was unplayable. Patently unfair.

Definitely should have marked it quicker. Oosthuizen did the same thing on 13 and his putt for par went from 2 feet to now 5 feet halfway on the other side of the hole. A lot of guys either don't know or don't understand the rules or are just not aware enough (I would suspect this in DJ's case) to get a mark down when in a precarious position in windy conditions.

 

[lionlurker]

It's all still nittpicking. Nobody should have been forced to go out and play today, unless they were all forced to go out and play, an equal amount. Period.

 

[Bushwood CC]

Should Johnson have marked the ball more quickly? With the benefit of hindsight, he probably wished he had. But you cannot miss the fact that some were playing on a course while other were being told not to because it was unplayable. Patently unfair.

Exactly, but Johnny-@sshole seems to have missed that basic point and principle in his zeal to attempt to discredit the messenger (rather than address the "message" - e.g., the topic) via his ad hominem attacks. Having played competitive golf, and understanding the spirit of the rules quite intimately (the "spirit" of which are to promote "fairness" more than anything else), there is no question that telling some players that "wind conditions are unplayable because they are blowing balls on the green" and instructing them not to play AT THE VERY SAME TIME you are FORCING others to play (especially when one of the groups you are forcing to play, while holding others, includes the current leader, a guy tied for 5th @ -7 and a guy tied for 15th @ -5), who are subject to the exact same "unplayable wind conditions" as evidenced by what happened to the leader after being FORCED to play on while others were told not play under the SAME conditions! (go tell Brendon Todd it wasn't unfair - he was forced to play complete all 3 holes remaining in his 2nd round - 16, 17 and 18 - he had balls blown across the green on both 16 and 17 before he could putt them UNFAIRLY costing him a stroke at both 16 and 17.....and he will now make the cut "at the number" [even par] rather than start his 3rd round at -2???). Complete bull$hit that 11 was the only place on the course that wind was blowing balls all over the green or that FORCING some to play in the "unplayable conditions" while giving relief to others such that they played ZERO SHOOTS in the conditions while others lost multiple shots to par while being FORCED to play in the same conditions is even remotely fair or in the "spirit of the rules".

 

[PSUriseANDfire]

David Duval is still alive. Actually playing pretty well.

 

[CDLionFL]

Exactly, but Johnny-@sshole seems to have missed that basic point and principle in his zeal to attempt to discredit the messenger (rather than address the "message" - e.g., the topic) via his ad hominem attacks. Having played competitive golf, and understanding the spirit of the rules quite intimately (the "spirit" of which are to promote "fairness" more than anything else), there is no question that telling some players that "wind conditions are unplayable because they are blowing balls on the green" and instructing them not to play AT THE VERY SAME TIME you are FORCING others to play (especially when one of the groups you are forcing to play, while holding others, includes the current leader, a guy tied for 5th @ -7 and a guy tied for 15th @ -5), who are subject to the exact same "unplayable wind conditions" as evidenced by what happened to the leader after being FORCED to play on while others were told not play under the SAME conditions! (go tell Brendon Todd it wasn't unfair - he was forced to play complete all 3 holes remaining in his 2nd round - 16, 17 and 18 - he had balls blown across the green on both 16 and 17 before he could putt them UNFAIRLY costing him a stroke at both 16 and 17.....and he will now make the cut "at the number" [even par] rather than start his 3rd round at -2???). Complete bull$hit that 11 was the only place on the course that wind was blowing balls all over the green or that FORCING some to play in the "unplayable conditions" while giving relief to others such that they played ZERO SHOOTS in the conditions while others lost multiple shots to par while being FORCED to play in the same conditions is even remotely fair or in the "spirit of the rules".

So only one eyeball pop out of your skull on this argument? Resorting to name calling? That's the best you've got? You might make good points with your argument but they go unnoticed when you start attacking people, as you've done with other arguments in the past.

 

[WiiRpos]

Bush boy doing the name calling, who knew?

So only one eyeball pop out of your skull on this argument? Resorting to name calling? That's the best you've got? You might make good points with your argument but they go unnoticed when you start attacking people, as you've done with other arguments in the past.

 

[PSUriseANDfire]

There isn't another golf thread unless I missed it. I think my money is now on Spieth. He is amazing.