Davis Rubs His Own Nose in PGA Rules

NO CRYING IN BASEBALL, NO FUDGING IN GOLF

By George Burnette
Fore!BlackGolfers Correspondent

A friend of mine introduced me to the game of golf. He hadn’t been playing long either. He told me he saw Calvin Peete on TV, read a “Snoopy” rules book, went and bought a starter set and headed over to Candler Park Golf Course in Atlanta, Georgia (Candler Park is the most municipal of our municpal golf courses here in Hotlanta). By the weekend duffer’s standards this friend would be considered naïve and stuffy; but only because the weekend duffer maintains a casual adherence to golf’s rules and etiquette whereas my friend enforced them with a Gestapo-like fervor. Such was my introduction to the game: and old habits die hard.

A few years ago I was watching a Tour event and saw Brian Davis, described here in an AP story, assessing one of the gnarliest lies you can imagine. As the camera zoomed in I saw him violate a very basic rule of golf concerning the movement of the ball. I don’t remember the exact situation but Brian got the Oscar for Best Golfer to pretend like he didn’t just cheat. There is no way he didn’t see what I saw. He suffered no repercussions other than this casual observer's disdain and disgust.

Brian had a similar experience - in a hazard - during a two-man sudden death playoff at Harbor Town this past Sunday. His club hit a reed in the hazard on his backswing. The TV cameras caught the violation. This time he called a penalty on himself and immediately conceded victory.

This series of events caused me to ask myself a few questions. Did Brian Davis come to the realization that if he chooses not to penalize himself the TV cameras may do it for him? Did he finally realize that if I saw the previous violation that I mentioned earlier millions of others could have too and that a repeat performance at Harbor Town would be cause for banishment? Will the tours around the world ask the networks to refrain from zooming in too close on shots so as to minimize controversy? Will instant replay ever play a role in golf?

A special thanks goes to Brian Davis for reaffirming my belief in the second chance.

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