Brandel Chamblee has been on something of a crusade of late to get the USGA to crack down on anchored-putter scofflaws, most specifically Bernhard Langer and Scott McCarron.
Bernhard Langer refutes challenges that he’s anchoring his putter
The USGA backed Langer and Scott McCarron’s responses to drumbeats that Champions Tour players anchor their putters despite golf’s governing bodies banning the practice more than two years ago.
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
“I cannot believe what I am seeing on PGA Tour Champions, with regard to the putting strokes of Bernhard Langer and Scott McCarron,” Chamblee wrote on GolfChannel.com on July 5.
The GC analyst was following up on previous comments he made during the recent U.S. Senior Open that essentially accused Langer, the winner of the first two Champions Tour majors of 2017 who holds his sternum putter very close to his chest, with not abiding by the rules.
“Anybody who sees what Langer and Scott McCarron and Ian Woosnam are doing knows it’s questionable,” Chamblee told GC colleague Tim Rosaforte following the Senior Open at Salem Country Club. “The whispers are out there. All of the players look askance whether they say it openly or not. I’ve talked to enough of them to know — and many have contacted me — they all look askance at what’s going on out there.”
Friday evening, in quintessential timing for news revelations the announcers would prefer you not notice, Langer and McCarron, with the blessing of the USGA, denied Chamblee’s assertions. So in case you were on the course, at the beach, or otherwise enjoying a glorious summer weekend and not giving anchored putting a second thought, you may have missed the curious rebuttal to Chamblee’s accusation.
“During my 45-year career as a professional golfer, I have called penalties on myself. I believe in honesty and integrity, and I could not live with myself if I broke a rule and did not incur the penalty,” Langer said in a joint statement with McCarron and the rules overlords. “I’m certain that I am not anchoring the putter and that my putting stroke is not violating the Rules of Golf.”
McCarron “emphatically” denied anchoring his hand, arm, or club against his body while navigating his putter. Both senior players said USGA and Champions Tour officials had exonerated them on several occasions.
“I will remain open and honest with rules officials and the governing bodies,” Langer concluded, “and I will continue to play with the same integrity that I’ve displayed throughout my career.”
The USGA, in the same statement in which the organization backed the two, proclaimed itself “confident” that players on all professional tours abide by Rule 14-1b, which bans anchored putting and which sparked much controversy before its adoption in 2016. The association also said that players whose clubs brush their shirts are not breaking the rule.
“We … have seen no evidence of a player breaching the Rule, which does not prohibit a hand or club to touch a player’s clothing in making a stroke,” said the USGA.
In addition to calling out competitors for what he considered playing fast and loose with the regulation, Chamblee called on the USGA to close the loophole that provides golfers and rules officials with a “get-out-of-jail card” by exonerating would-be rules-breakers if there were no “intent” to clutch the clubs against their bodies.
Chamblee won’t be holding his breath for such a clarification.
“I’ll assume none of that will happen, and that the rule will stand as written, which does provide a loophole for those — and there is no way to gild this lily — that have the lack of character to take advantage of it,” Chamblee wrote.
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