Rory McIlroy, apparently extremely unhappy with the way he finished the third round of the BMW Masters in Shanghai, was probably not as hot under the collar as fellow competitor Simon Dyson, who became the latest professional golfer to fall victim to ignorance of the Rules of Golf.
Rory McIlroy unhappy with game, Simon Dyson DQd after rules violation at BMW Masters
Rory McIlroy was not the only player furious Saturday at the BMW Masters tourney. The former No. 1 faltered down the stretch to fall out of contention, but Simon Dyson got the heave-ho after breaking a rule and signing an incorrect scorecard.
Andrew Redington
Tourney officials disqualified Dyson for touching the line of his putt with his golf ball and not adding the requisite two-stroke penalty to his scorecard. Turns out the arm-chair umpiring that runs rampant on the PGA Tour is alive and well in Europe as well. Several emails and and tweets about Dyson tamping something down with his ball after he marked his spot on the green caused European chief referee John Paramor to review video footage and subsequently rule the 35-year-old Englishman out.
McIlroy reportedly stalked off Lake Malaren Golf Club in Shanghai and took out his latest frustrations on his putter, which he slammed into a step on his way to the scorer’s area after booting a chance to get into contention for his first global victory of the 2013 season by carding a double-bogey on the par-4 18th, according to AFP. The two-time major champion, who gushed after a first-round 71 about his game “falling back into place” with his new driver and ball (details of which remain under wraps at Nike), carded a 1-under 71 on Saturday. That put him at 2-under for the event -- six shots behind co-leaders Luke Guthrie and Rafa Cabrera-Bello heading into Sunday’s finale.
As distraught as McIlroy purportedly was, Dyson had to be even more furious, though -- like Tiger Woods and a host of his peers -- a passing knowledge of the rules might have kept the six-time Euro tour winner in the tournament.
"When the footage was reviewed, Simon was seen to touch the line of his second putt after marking and lifting his ball on the green," Paramor, referring to Rule 16-1a, said in a statement, according to Bernie McGuire. "He subsequently failed to add a two-shot penalty to his score when signing his card, and as a result has now been disqualified.
“He was bitterly disappointed,” Paramor added about Dyson, who believed he was tied for second, four shots back, only to learn a day later of his Friday infraction and subsequent DQ. “He had no way of explaining why or how he came to do what he did. He had no recollection of it until I showed him and even then he said ‘I can’t even remember doing it.’ It’s a very sad thing and unfortunately his event is over.”
As for McIlroy, he had a good round going (four straight birdies after making the turn), only to watch his title hopes all but disappear with that final double-bogey.
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