Michelle Wie is known for many things–unbelievable talent; unrealized potential; overbearing parents; a propensity for playing in men’s golf tournaments; and now, after her second notable disqualification for a Rules of Golf infraction, we can add “Rules Challenged” to the list.
On July 20th Wie was disqualified from the LPGA State Farm Classic in Springfield, Illinois after signing an incorrect scorecard in her second round. The error was discovered after Wie had completed her third round””particularly tough timing after Wie posted her third straight sub-70 round to put her one shot off the lead. Wie’s hopes of her first LPGA Tour win were dashed when it was learned that she failed to sign her scorecard for the second round.
As is always the case when a player is disqualified (particularly a high profile player such as Wie) the incident created the usual stir among the media that perhaps it is time to update another one of golf’s archaic rules. In our digital age it does seem strange that a player can be disqualified for a detail as mundane as signing a scorecard. Heck, the score is recorded on the Internet before the player can lift the ball from the bottom of the cup. Many seem to believe that this rule (Rule 6-6) should be put out to pasture along with the stymie, the “over the shoulder drop” and steel spikes.
I, for one, disagree. Rule 6-6 requires that players in Stroke Play return a card that has 18 hole-by-hole scores and a signature for themselves and their marker. Failure to have these twenty “marks” on a card results in a non-stop trip to golf’s “Dairy Queen.” Why such a strict penalty? Peter Parker knows””with power comes great responsibility. Golf is the only sport that gives the contestants the power to act as their own referee. There are no yellow flags in golf. With this power, comes the responsibility to get it right in the scoring area and to vouch for all of your strokes. Changing Rule 6-6 would upset this important, unique and time-tested tradition.
Michelle Wie can now take a seat next to fellow Hawaiian Jackie Pung and Argentina’s Roberto DiVincenzo whose names headline the Google search under “wrong scorecard.” (Pung lost the 1957 U.S. Women’s Open and DiVencenzo the 1968 Masters for scoring mistakes.) In Wie’s case her mistake was not signing an incorrect scorecard, it was failing to sign altogether. DiVincenzo’s error was signing for a score higher than what he made on the par-four 17th hole forcing him to accept a score one stroke higher than what he made and that kept him out of a sudden-death playoff with Bob Goalby. Pung’s error was signing for a score lower than what she made on a hole which, like Wie, resulted in disqualification.
Let’s hope that Wie’s career, unlike Pung’s will overcome this knockout punch.
