Thorbjorn Oleson putting incident

[The Commoner]

Whilst playing in one of the final Tour events Thorbjorn Oleson appeared to accidentally strike his ball, on the putting green, whilst carrying out some practice strokes, but didn't seem to get penalized for it! Can anyone clarify whether or not he was penalized, and if not why not.

thanks

 

[duncan mackie]

all covered here - Google is your friend....

http://www.pga.com/news/golf-buzz/thorbjorn-olesens-odd-three-putt-in-turkey

 

[cookelad]

Whilst playing in one of the final Tour events Thorbjorn Oleson appeared to accidentally strike his ball, on the putting green, whilst carrying out some practice strokes, but didn't seem to get penalized for it! Can anyone clarify whether or not he was penalized, and if not why not.

thanks

He was penalised a shot, he missed his putt for a 4 on the hole went to tap in, and the story goes that, he caught his shoe with his putter deflecting the blade onto the ball, after some deliberation with an official he replaced the ball and holed out for a 6!

 

[duncan mackie]

He was penalised a shot, he missed his putt for a 4 on the hole went to tap in, and the story goes that, he caught his shoe with his putter deflecting the blade onto the ball, after some deliberation with an official he replaced the ball and holed out for a 6!

the way you have explained it makes no sense I am afraid - probably better to stick to the account on the PGA website linked here.

if he had 'gone to tap in' he would be making a stroke and therefore would not have replaced the ball

if he had hit his shoe during a practice stroke, causing it to deflect and strike the ball, then he would have replaced it

 

[cookelad]

the way you have explained it makes no sense I am afraid - probably better to stick to the account on the PGA website linked here.

if he had 'gone to tap in' he would be making a stroke and therefore would not have replaced the ball

if he had hit his shoe during a practice stroke, causing it to deflect and strike the ball, then he would have replaced it

Apologies I had meant to put "while addressing the ball" but for some reason seem to have omitted it I blame the sandwich I was eating as I typed!

 

[duncan mackie]

Apologies I had meant to put "while addressing the ball" but for some reason seem to have omitted it I blame the sandwich I was eating as I typed!

ah - the old spam sandwich :thup:

I only picked up on it as it was absolutely fundamental to the ruling

 

[CMAC]

that link had a video- which doesnt work now unfortunately, so

[video=youtube_share;BBTuEfcNqqE]http://youtu.be/BBTuEfcNqqE[/video]

 

[Old Skier]

Looks like he was taking a putt to me but if said he wasn't then he wasn't.

 

[Colin L]

Take another look at the accidental hit - no addressing the ball, no settling down over the putt but rather a swipe as he brings his club down - and then look at his putt with the replaced ball. Completely different. The first may "look like a putt" to you, but the test is whether is was a stroke i.e. was it made with the intention of hitting the ball. It would be hard to see that intention in his actions.

 

[sev112]

Hold on, this sounds hilarious ...

I am on a green in 2 on a par 4 (to make it simple) about 2" from the hole (I know it's hard to believe)

While doing a practice stroke I catch the ball with the toe of my putter and it goes in the hole.

Are you seriously saying that instead of carding a 3, that I have to take the ball out of the hole' give myself a penalty shot, 3, replace the ball and putt out for a 4 ?????

Really???
That cannot be what the intent of the rule is?

I find that really odd

(Because the only time it happened to me the curved head of my mallet putter hit the ball off at 45 degrees about 20ft away, so obviously I want it back at circa 1ft for the penalty shot)

 

[rulefan]

The rule is about moving the ball other than with a stroke.
The rule must cover all situations otherwise you would have dozens of rules.

Given that you can't move the ball without making a stroke (or when proceeding under some other legitimate rule) then how do you differentiate between your example and a player simply picking up his ball off the green and dropping it 20' nearer the hole.

 

[Beezerk]

Looks like he was taking a putt to me

Looks like it to me me as well, he lost his head after missing the first putt (you see him shake his head when it misses) and tried an angry tap in but failed

 

[Colin L]

sev,
to add to rulefan's example, would you be happy if a player who, while shuffling through some deep rough in search of his ball accidentally caught it with his foot and kicked it on to the fairway, was allowed to count that as a stroke and play his next shot from the fairway?

Anyway, aren't you trying to have it both ways? Count the accidental knock into the hole as a stroke because it had a good outcome; but replace the ball you accidentally knocked 20 feet away because it had a bad outcome?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Looks like he was taking a putt to me but if said he wasn't then he wasn't.

Looks like it to me me as well, he lost his head after missing the first putt (you see him shake his head when it misses) and tried an angry tap in but failed

I think I agree, I've watch it over a few times and can't for the life of me see how that was accidental. Granted, it looks nothing like his normal putting stroke but how many times do we see players knock in short putts without taking a stance or practice swing.

EDIT: I just watched it again, there is no way that was accidental, he was trying to knock it in, absolutely no question as far as I can see. He may not take is normal stance but he definitely places his feet as though he is intending to knock it in.

 

[rulefan]

When did the referee arrive on the scene? After he hit the ball he (the player) looked at his fellow competitor. He didn't seem to look elsewhere.
The recording then breaks and a referee has appeared. Did the referee rule on what was told or what he saw? The FC seems to be telling him where to replace the ball.

 

[cliveb]

I am on a green in 2 on a par 4 (to make it simple) about 2" from the hole (I know it's hard to believe)

While doing a practice stroke I catch the ball with the toe of my putter and it goes in the hole.

Are you seriously saying that instead of carding a 3, that I have to take the ball out of the hole' give myself a penalty shot, 3, replace the ball and putt out for a 4 ?????

I'd say that was suitably karmic punishment for you being such a wuss that you took a practice stroke for a 2" putt

 

[CMAC]

When did the referee arrive on the scene? After he hit the ball he (the player) looked at his fellow competitor. He didn't seem to look elsewhere.
The recording then breaks and a referee has appeared. Did the referee rule on what was told or what he saw? The FC seems to be telling him where to replace the ball.

dont see any issue, a referee was probably called, pretty common occurence in tournaments, and his FC is affirming where the ball was.

 

[bladeplayer]

EDIT: I just watched it again, there is no way that was accidental, he was trying to knock it in, absolutely no question as far as I can see. He may not take is normal stance but he definitely places his feet as though he is intending to knock it in.

I thought so aswell , ive watched it a few times and think he went to flick it in and missed .. makes ya wonder what was going through his head .. maybe he wasnt sure and feared a Dysongate ??
Still only he knows for sure if he meant to hit it & he said he didnt , fair play to him for his honesty & calling the penalty even if it made no difference to his score ...

 

[rulefan]

dont see any issue, a referee was probably called, pretty common occurence in tournaments, and his FC is affirming where the ball was.

My point was that if the referee was not there to see the incident, his ruling would be based on what the player said he did.

 

[chrisd]

My point was that if the referee was not there to see the incident, his ruling would be based on what the player said he did.

Absolutely correct, and, by calling the referee and getting a decision there is no comeback on the players for coming to a wrong ruling. I saw it live and it absolutely looked like a deliberate attempt to knock it in whist still seething after the miss.