“The difference between a moral man and a man of honour is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught”
On Sunday night at Augusta we saw 2 men, 2 men desperate to win, 2 men giving a 100% of their heart and soul into every shot, but 2 men with class, honour and dignity.
Next time you see Adam Scott’s winning putt don’t look at Adam, look at Angel Cabrera.
Cabrera’s reaction says volumes about the man. Was he gutted he lost, with out a shadow of a doubt! But did he show it ? No.
His congratulations to Adam were genuine and heartfelt, that was obvious to anyone.
As for Scott, well I have not seen such genuine joy shown by a golfer for a long time.
Cast your mind back to last July and the way he handled losing the Open Championship to Ernie Els? No tantrums, no huffs, no blaming this or that, the man showed a huge amount of dignity.
From a golf point of view either men would have been a deserving winner.
Compare that to 36 hours earlier when, in my opinion, honour had deserted our great game.
Nobody has ever, or will ever again, polarise opinions like Tiger Woods.
To many, himself included, he is the golfing saviour, well that’s why I am an agnostic.
Do I understand the need for rule 33-7 ? To be honest yes I do.
In this day and age the human eye can not compete with HD, 3D, slow motion cameras. Technology will always pick up something the naked eye does not see. But was this the case on this occasion ?
Just as a side bar I think those who phone in on such things need to get a life! But I digress.
Should Tigers drop at 15 on Friday be covered by 33-7? No.
And I will tell you why.
In his own press conference after the round Tiger said he dropped it back 2 yards to give him a better shot in.
Rule 26-1 clearly states “drop the ball as near as possible to the original shot”, in what universe is 2 yards the closest possible point??
Ignorance of the rules by Tiger? What do you think?
We have all seen Tiger “using” the rules to his advantage in the past, we have seen him tell rules officials what the rules are.
Remember that boulder in Arizona or the TV cables at the Open Championship? Who told the officials he was entitled to relief? Tiger did!
If you honestly don’t think Tiger Woods knows the rules of golf inside out then you still believe in the tooth fairy!
Was rule 33-7 was manipulated to ensure Tiger stayed in the tournament?
If that had been any other player in the field would they have played at the weekend? Hand on heart I have to say no.
Should Tiger have withdrawn? Would you?
Someone asked me “would you have withdrawn” my reply was simple, “I would have dropped the ball properly in the first place”
Quite frankly I think Fred Ridley needs to resign because he is as much to blame as anyone.
This may come as news to many but Tiger is not bigger than golf.
Golf was here long before Tiger and it will be here long after him.
Imagine this if you will, if Tiger had withdrawn, remember he had already admitted he broke the rules, what would the reaction of the media and golfers been?
Would Tiger be a hero? A man of honour? Would everyone be patting him on the back?
We will never know, will we?
I, with all my heart, thank both Adam and Angel for showing the world that golf still has honour and integrity.
As for Mr Woods, quite frankly I don’t care anymore.
“Honour is like an Island, rugged and without shores; Once we have left it, we can never return”
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