By Larry Brown | May 12, 2013 - Posted in Golf

Tiger-WoodsTiger Woods was questioned for the second tournament in a row for a drop he took after hitting into the water.

Tiger went into the water on the par-4 14th hole during the final round of The Players on Sunday. He took a drop which led to some questions from NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller.

“That was really, really borderline. I couldn’t live with myself without saying that,” Miller said, via Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner.

Miller is known for being a controversial announcer, so this sort of thing is nothing new for him. This is also nothing new for Tiger, who was facing disqualification at the Masters after taking an illegal drop on the 15th hole at Augusta during his second round.

Woods took his one-stroke penalty for hitting into the water on 14 and double-bogeyed the hole. He won the tournament at 13-under, but the drop he took on 14 has left many questions.

Woods’ options after hitting into the water were: 1) play his shot from the original location 2) play from behind the water hazard 3) play where the ball crossed over the hazard.

Did Tiger do any of the three? The PGA Tour had his back by issuing this statement:

“Without definitive evidence, the point where Woods’ ball last crossed the lateral water hazard is determined through best judgement by Woods and his fellow competitor. If that point later proves to be a wrong point (through television or other means), the player is not penalized by Rule 26-1 given the fact that a competitor would risk incurring a penalty every time he makes an honest judgment as to the point where his ball last crosses a water-hazard margin and that judgment subsequently proves incorrect (Decision 26-1/17).”

Video via The Big Lead

By Larry Brown | January 7, 2013 - Posted in Golf, Media

ian poulter windIan Poulter fired back at NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller who criticized how long Poulter was taking to set up his shots over the weekend.

Play at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Maui, was cancelled three straight days because of strong winds. Poulter was among those who wanted golfers to tough it out despite the harsh winds.

“We need to try to put the show on,” Ian Poulter said at first. “Hyundai spent a lot of money. We want to play. Fans want to see us play. TV wants to see us play. We’re backed into a corner. I don’t think they understand how windy it really is. Now they’ve seen it.

“This is going to be crazy golf. You’ve just got to suck it up,” Poulter said via Reuters.

Though Poulter wanted to tough it out, he found golfing in those conditions to be extremely difficult. He had to back away six times on a 10-foot putt on the 11th hole Sunday, which irked Miller and Dan Hicks:

“He surely doesn’t have the Tom Watson attitude so far,” said Miller. “He’s afraid he’s going to hurt himself, probably set back the game 20 years. … He’s just taking way too much time. He’s being fairly dramatic here.”

Hicks shared similar thoughts.

“You have to give in to the conditions and the whole scene here to a degree or you’re going to drive yourself crazy trying to get set perfectly…”

Word of Miller and Hicks’ criticism got back to Poulter, who fired back via his Twitter account.

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