Armchair whistleblowers could affect play at the Masters

The Lexi Thompson rules controversy continues to reverberate throughout the world of golf, and with the epicenter of that universe in Augusta, Ga. this week, the topic of how to handle remote whistleblowers has received a thorough airing ahead of Thursday’s start to the Masters.

Those who favor ending the practice of letting armchair referees determine the outcomes of tournaments — as happened late into the final round of the first women’s major of the season on Sunday — will not be cheered to know that Augusta National officials will continue to accept communiques from get-a-life couch potatoes until the game’s rules makers put an end to such nonsense.

“It was certainly very unfortunate. It broke our hearts, as it did golf fans watching all over the country,” Fred Ridley, Masters competition chair, said Wednesday about the situation that befell Thompson down the stretch of Sunday’s ANA Inspiration finale.

While commending how Thompson handled herself after learning, on her way to the 13th green, that, thanks to a TV snitch, she had incurred a four-stroke penalty a day earlier, Ridley noted that Augusta officials don’t make the rules, they just abide by them. He did mention that he would welcome a change to this particular edict by those who set and oversee golf’s mandates.

“As you know, we are not a governing body. We follow The Rules of Golf that are promulgated by the governing bodies, but we are encouraged to know that this issue is something that is being considered as part of the rules modernization effort that’s going on right now, and we understand that there is a proposal that’s being discussed that would limit the use of video evidence,” said Ridley. “So we hope very much that … an appropriate solution to this would be reached. We would be very supportive in that and we hope that that will happen sooner, rather than later.”

Preferably before another incident like what happened to Thompson — or to Tiger Woods at Augusta in 2013 — rears its ugly head again. Four years ago, a TV watcher alerted Augusta rules officials to Woods’ questionable drop on the 15th hole of the second round.

While Tiger incurred a two-shot penalty for a bad drop, he did avoid disqualification because officials did not make him aware of the violation before he signed what turned out to be an incorrect scorecard.

As part of a sweeping proposed overhaul of the rules that golf’s overlords, the USGA and R&A, announced last month tourney officials may be able to set limits on employing video by accepting a player’s “reasonable judgment” on issues such as replacing balls after marking them on the green or taking relief. Until such changes are implemented in 2019, however, Augusta National officials have no recourse but to play by the rules.