Filed under: PGA
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has suspended the regulation that resulted in Jim Furyk’s disqualification last week from the Barclays after he was late to his pro-am starting time.
For the remainder of the year, a similar situation will be handled as a matter of unbecoming conduct. A player guilty of a similar offense will be required to participate in the remainder of the pro-am round and may be required to perform additional sponsor activity. A player who misses his pro-am obligation in its entirety will still be ruled ineligible for the tournament unless he has been excused in accordance with the provisions of the regulations.
The matter will receive further discussion at the Policy Board meeting in November.
Phil Mickelson made a solid argument why the old rule was a bad one: not all players are required to participate in pro-am competitions.
“The rule itself applies to only half the field,” Mickelson says. “So if you’re going to have a rule that does not apply to everybody, because not everybody played the pro-am, you cannot have it affect the competition.
“It’s got to be a different penalty. It can’t be disqualification if it only applies to half the field. So this rule — it’s not protecting the players. It’s not protecting the sponsors. It applies to only half the field and yet it affects the integrity of the competition.
“I have no idea how the commissioner let this rule go through.”
