Is my memory playing tricks with me - Faldo related

[MarkS]

i seem to remember Faldo mishitting a shot which went into the gallery, only for a few seconds later the ball miraculously appearing back on the fairway.
It may even have been a Ryder Cup or maybe a World Matchplay game.

Or (more likely) am i rememberring a dream?

I have no idea why this has just come into mind....

 

[MarkS]

bit naughty that, really.

 

[Imurg]

No this did happen - maybe Wentworth? Can't remember when - some bright spark will know but your memory is spot on.

 

[jammydodger]

I remember this happening too , but for the life of me cant place where it was. I recall all the booing from the crowd at the time

 

[CrapHacker]

16th at Wentworth immediately sprung to mind. He hit it long, pause, pause, wait for it....


trickles back to the edge of the green.

Now I might well be wrong, but that's a strong image in my mind.

Logically I'd have said it was the Ryder Cup, but that hole just doesn't look like a Brabazon hole in my memory, so I'm guessing it was the Matchplay.

 

[CliveW]

I seem to recall the same thing happening to Tiger Woods.

 

[MarkS]

I seem to recall the same thing happening to Tiger Woods.

the only difference being that Woods threw his own ball onto the green?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I thought it was a semi-final in the world matchplay (something tells me against Lyle of Langer). It was definitely Wentworth though.

 

[toonarmy]

the only difference being that Woods threw his own ball onto the green?

Or, as actually happened in Brookline, hiding Coltart's ball (by the gallery) causing him to lose the hole and the momentum when Woods could not get away from him?

 

[alexgolf]

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=13...BAJ&pg=2602,6864096
Think this is the incident, but it was not Faldos fault.

 

[alexgolf]

Sorry its on page 31

 

[MarkS]

where?

 

[John_Findlay]

It's reported as the "Graham Marsh" incident in Faldo's biography.

They were all square after 33 holes of the World Matchplay. Faldo's 2nd shot at the 16th at Wentworth ran through the green into the hand of a spectator who ,in a moment of madness, threw it back on. As the ball was still moving Faldo got to play the ball is it lay, from the green. Upset, Marsh missed a 3 footer to half the hole and ended up losing 2 and 1.

Faldo says that with the benefit of hindsight, if he had known what had actually happened at the time, he would have invited Marsh to replay the 16th.

 

[Imurg]

Under the rules would he have been able to? As has been said, it was caused by an outside agency - could have bounced off a bag or seat and had the same effect.
Not sure they could have said " Let's play that one again"

 

[John_Findlay]

I'm pretty sure the referee would have agreed if that's what both players wanted to do. The rules are based on equity, after all.

 

[MarkS]

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=13...BAJ&pg=2602,6864096

 

[CrapHacker]

Reading the article I don't think replaying the hole was an option. But Faldo was critised for not conceding the putt for a half.

Like he says, they didn't see it as it happened, so didn't realise quite how bad it was, it could easily have bounced off someone and been a perfectly normal rub of the green.

So, to him, once the ruling had been made, he played the hole out as he normally would.

It's only once you see it you realise how bad it was.

Like the article says, it's one of those moments that people will be talking about when Faldo is old enough to be playing the seniors tour.

Yup, that's us.

 

[John_Findlay]

I was watching it "live" on the telly at the time (I never missed a minute of the World Matchplay in those days) and the immediate thought was

"Hold on a minute, a Faldo fan's just lobbed that back onto the green. That's not fair"

As you say, CH, it's amazing how these sort of incidents can hang over a player for their whole career. Here we are discussing it 25 years later.

 

[MarkS]

i guess its similar to my comment about Wie yesterday - within the laws of golf, but against the spirit of the game?

 

[CrapHacker]

i guess its similar to my comment about Wie yesterday - within the laws of golf, but against the spirit of the game?

I don't think so, myself.

In any competitive game/sport you are playing to win. Play fairly, and let the luck land where it may. For us amateurs we should err on the side of 'play it as it lies'

But for the pros it's different. They have ROs walking the course at their beck and call. So if there is a tricky situation, you call for a ruling.

You ask for a ruling, and it's down to the ref.

The rules of golf are meant to be clear, so that every situation has an answer.

Faldo asked the question, and given the answer he got he didn't realise the seriousness of the problem. If he had seen it on tv, he'd have made a different choice. But he played it fairly as the RO called it.

In a different situation Wie asked a similar question, and the rules of the game say the official made the correct ruling.

In both situations there may be blame to be apportioned, but in neither case against the player. Neither of them cheated, neither of them tried to manipulate the situation to their advantage. They simply asked for clarification. And if the ruling had gone against either of them, I'm sure they would have accepted it without a problem.

However, a six hour round ? There should be a 2 shot penalty for that, on every hole where there is blame to be apportioned.