Padraig Harrington can't win for losing. Since his incredible run from 2007-08 when Harrington picked up three majors in six tries, things just haven't been so easy for the Irishman. But Paddy announced in 2011 that he was changing up his swing (again) and that this time it would be better (again), and after his first round at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, it seemed the changes might actually take.
Harrington posted an opening 65, leaving him a shot back of Charl Schwartzel at the high-profiled event, but for the second time in 2011, a viewer called a penalty on a golfer that had long signed his scorecard and Padraig was disqualified.
The penalty? Rule 23A under the Rules of Golf, a very similar infraction to what Camilo Villegas went through at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions when he was asked to leave early in Hawaii. Padraig, as you can see in the above video, went to mark his ball on the seventh hole, and as he was pulling the mark back, the ball moved ever so slightly, just enough to warrant a two-stroke penalty. Padraig didn't notice it (as most anyone wouldn't with such a small movement of the ball), and since he had signed his scorecard without acknowledging the penalty, he was promptly disqualified.
This is becoming a serious problem in golf, and with the addition of high definition and full coverage of every shot on every hole, something needs to be changed. It isn't fair to the golfers, it isn't fair to the fans and it isn't fair to the game that someone can be kicked out of a tournament because they are breaking rules they don't even know occurred by someone thousands of miles away. Sure, it is a rules infraction, and a penalty should be handed out, but being disqualified seems drastic and unfair.
I'm worried that golfers will start to be too guarded. They will take even more time making sure they aren't doing anything wrong with the cameras on them, and it will slow the game down even more (if that's possible) and make it less enjoyable.
It's a no-win here, yet it continues to happen. Come on USGA and R&A. Unlike the Ten Commandments, your rules come with an eraser. Figure out a fair way to change this, and do it before it ruins golf.
Sienna Guillory Tricia Vessey Aki Ross Ashley Tappin Carmen Electra
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