Open Championship at Portrush

**wyeaster** · 07-20-2019, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by SkiCougar

he takes a one stroke penalty...

constant moves for playable with no penalty

.

**Tye 1on** · 07-20-2019, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by SkiCougar

and the most pathetic penalties in all of professional sports strike again.

lee westwood literally hits one into the bush. its at the base of a bush and sunk an inch into the mud. he takes a one stroke penalty and is able to place it onto a nice ridge 20 feet away where he knocks it on the green and drps one. if he had played even two club lengths, that place would have cost him two club lengths minimum.

i'm rooting for westwood, but penalties and the constant moves for playable with no penalty are a farce in golf..

So you object to him being able to take a stroke penalty and moving back on a line from the pin and the ball, to drop from the knee? That's been an option with Rule 19 forever! The real story there is him not trying to argue his way in to a free drop! It was cool they had it miked up so you could hear the discussion. https://www.golf.com/news/2019/07/20...e-relief-open/

**4matic** · 07-20-2019, 01:40 PM

From that spot a free drop might have been a worse decision depending where he could take relief. If it buried in the rough it might have been unplayable again. What is the rule if your free drop is unplayable?

**skiballs** · 07-20-2019, 01:48 PM

^you answered you own question. Unplayable is well.....unplayable, two club lengths no closer to the hole, or as tye stated above. This whole dropping from the knee thing is definitely an advantage, vs over your shoulder like back in the pre internet days.

**4matic** · 07-20-2019, 01:54 PM

I didn't realize that relief from embedded ball in the rough was new for 2019. I thought maybe I didn't know the rule correctly on why he might even ask for relief:

Major Change: Relief for An Embedded Ball
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/ho...dded-ball.html

"This is an appropriate exception to the principle of playing the ball as it lies because having to play a ball that is stuck in soft or wet ground (whether in the fairway or the rough) should not be considered part of the normal challenge of playing a course.

Allowing relief throughout the general area is consistent with other relief Rules, which do not make distinctions based on the height of the grass in the general area."

Question: If the ball was imbedded wouldn't have he been entitled to a drop by rule if he wanted it regardless of playability consideration?

**skiballs** · 07-20-2019, 03:24 PM

Yeah embedded ball was always a local rule. I never played in a tournament where the local rule for imbedded ball wasn't in effort.

**Tye 1on** · 07-20-2019, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by 4matic

Question: If the ball was imbedded wouldn't have he been entitled to a drop by rule if he wanted it regardless of playability consideration?

Nope, he has to be wanting to play it as it lies, which in this case, even if it was not embedded he would not have played it, would have taken an unplayable.
From the link you shared: This is an appropriate exception to the principle of playing the ball as it lies because having to play a ball that is stuck in soft or wet ground (whether in the fairway or the rough) should not be considered part of the normal challenge of playing a course.

**Sluff** · 07-20-2019, 03:34 PM

Tee times for tomorrow are moved up. Weather supposed to be a major factor.

**Tye 1on** · 07-21-2019, 09:23 AM

Leaders played the front in 2:10, proper pace considering the weather. Go Shane'o!

**Fritz** · 07-21-2019, 01:06 PM

That was impressive.

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**skiballs** · 07-21-2019, 07:28 PM

**4matic** · 07-21-2019, 09:47 PM

Final group played their round in 4:30~. Koepka complaining about Holmes slow play appears to be more of a demeanor thing. I agree it’s hard to watch JBH go through his pre shot routine but I don’t think they lost ground or were off pace.

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**wyeaster** · 07-21-2019, 10:14 PM

Koepka quickly recovered with an eagle 2 on the par-4 fifth hole by driving the green and sinking a 5-footer. He made the turn at 2-over 38, and then had a bogey on the par-4 11th.

That's when Holmes' slow pace seemed to get under Koepka's skin. Holmes started the day at 10 under, but he was 5 over on the front nine. Then he had a triple-bogey 7 on 11 and a double-bogey 7 on 12.

Brooks Koepka has now finished in the top five in five straight majors. Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
While Holmes was spending extra time reading his double-bogey putt on No. 11, Koepka turned his back and wiped his face in apparent frustration.

"I'm ready to go most of the time," Koepka said. "That's what I don't understand. When it's your turn to hit, your glove is not on, then you start thinking about it, that's where the problem lies. It's not that he takes that long. He doesn't do anything until his turn. That's the frustrating part. But he's not the only one that does it out here."

On the par-5 12th hole, Holmes hit his second shot into bushes on the right side of the green. He took an unplayable lie and tried to chip off trampled grass. His ball rolled back down the false front of the green. He putted onto the green and needed two more putts for double-bogey.

While walking off the No. 12 green, according to Golf Channel's Will Gray, Koepka looked at a rules official and pointed at a nonexistent watch on his hand, apparently indicating to the official that Holmes was playing slow.

Koepka said he didn't remember the incident after his round.

Holmes shot 16-over 87, which dropped him from third place at the start of the round to a tie for 67th at 6 over.

Holmes declined to speak to reporters after the round.

"He had a rough day, but J.B. is a slow player," Koepka said. "I know it's difficult with the wind, but I didn't think he was that bad [with the pace on Sunday]. I thought he was all right. ... It was slow, but it wasn't that bad for his usual pace.

"There were some times when I thought it was slow. There are a lot of slow guys out here. That's not the first one I've been with it, especially when you've got a walking official with you."

It was the second time in the final round of a major this year that Koepka was paired with a player who struggled mightily. In the PGA Championship, Harold Varner III shot 11-over 81.

Koepka has been one the most vocal critics of slow play on the PGA Tour.

"The European Tour does an unbelievable job with the pace of play, posting it in the locker rooms. The PGA doesn't do that," he said.

**wyeaster** · 07-21-2019, 11:12 PM

Playing With J.B. Holmes Was Brooks Koepka's Personal Hell
https://deadspin.com/playing-with-j-...-he-1836581616

**byates1** · 07-22-2019, 12:08 AM

**Tye 1on** · 07-22-2019, 09:25 AM

Talked to a buddy in Portrush last night. So many of the 7000 residents worked their butts off all week, and are 'knackered'. Most of the big paychecks were from the lodging sector, some restaurants actually took a hit, as there was no re-entry (unless you were a member of RPGC) so lunch business was way off. But, with mixed feelings, they said that the secret about their wee little coastal city was out...

**SumJongGuy** · 07-22-2019, 09:49 AM

I had a meeting with an Irish guy from the UK this morning. He had mentioned last week that he was there in PTO. I told him I heard him singing the Ole' chant LOL... He laughed.. He wasn't there yesterday, only Thursday and Friday, but still thought the Ole' chant was funny..

**cinnepa** · 07-22-2019, 10:18 AM

great country and people, was there 2 years ago.....but did not hit northern ireland - next time back will include golf. loved lahinch ....the course and town.

**k2skier112** · 07-22-2019, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by wyeaster

Playing With J.B. Holmes Was Brooks Koepka's Personal Hell
https://deadspin.com/playing-with-j-...-he-1836581616

I could see that in his eyes. Been there, your games off, conditions are shit and you're playing with someone you want to throat punch

**jackstraw** · 07-22-2019, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by k2skier112

I could see that in his eyes. Been there, your games off, conditions are shit and you're playing with someone you want to throat punch

He's got some roid rage peaking thru?

Sure, slow play drives me crazy, but I'm not playing the game for a living making millions. He needs to suck it up and let the officials so their job.