By Ryan Herrington
Within minutes of Phil Mickelson’s decision to hit his moving golf ball on the 13th green at Shinnecock Hills on Saturday, social media became a cascade of opinions regarding what should be the outcome of his infraction at the U.S. Open. For some, a two-stroke penalty for breaking Rule 14-5 (playing a moving ball) was punishment enough. But for many—including a decent number of tour professionals—the crime deserved a stiffer sentence.
Here’s another look at what happened:
A remarkable sequence on Hole 13, where Phil Mickelson was assessed a two-stroke penalty for hitting a moving ball and ended up making a 10 on the hole. pic.twitter.com/kx6ieYiOGR
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 16, 2018
Where many questioned the way USGA officials handled the situation was in the interpretation that Mickelson did not “purposely” deflect or stop his ball. Had they decided that was the case, Rule 1-2 would come into effect and could have allowed them to disqualify Mickelson for his actions. But
As you can see from this sample of social media posts, Mickelson’s peers weren’t in agreement:
So he didn’t purposely stop the ball for his benefit?? Ok .. so running after the ball after he saw he was going to run 50 yards off the green was just a veteran move to keep his hamstrings warm.. gotcha
— bowdo (@bowdo83) June 16, 2018
Usga Rule change..
Rule 1-2
Stroke play.If admitting to completely violating this rule on national tv, it’s deemed you are disqualified.
One exception to the rule.
It’s your birthday.— bowdo (@bowdo83) June 16, 2018
Well then I think he feels taking a two shot penalty is better than playing from where the ball would’ve ended up! I don’t know how tough the chip shot would’ve been back so I’m inclined to say that it was a smart play ? I’m gonna side with Big Phil on this one! https://t.co/JS72FZgbnd
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) June 16, 2018
Phil is the only one who could give that bs answer and have a ton of people believe he thought it out before. Secondly, if he had thought through it, isn’t that grounds for dq?
— Tag Ridings (@TaggsGolf) June 16, 2018
Agree with this ?? Serious cop out from the USGA. https://t.co/HEAKwK5IZz
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) June 16, 2018
Does this not show intent? Am I high(I am not)? In what universe is this not an admittance of gaining a significant advantage by stopping the ball from possibly (likely) rolling off the green, resulting in a potentially higher score? I’m honestly asking. https://t.co/5e8mGRukWj
— Christina Kim (@TheChristinaKim) June 16, 2018
Where many were stopped was when they heard Mickelson’s explanation for what he did.
“Look, I mean no disrespect by anybody,” Mickelson said. “I know it’s a two-shot penalty, and at the time I just didn’t feel like going back and forth and hitting the same shot over. I took the two-shot penalty and moved on. It’s my understanding of the rules. I’ve had multiple times where I’ve wanted to do that. I just finally did.
“It was going to go down in the same spot behind the bunker. I wasn’t going to have a shot. I don’t know if I was able to save a shot or not. I know it’s a two-shot penalty hitting a moving ball. I tried to hit it as close as I could on the next one, and you take the two shots and move on.”
The critics claim was that there seemed to be intent that would suggest he purposely stopped the ball.
Others weren’t willing to go so far as to say they would have disqualified Mickleson, but did post comments while looking for the sarcasm font on their keyboards.
I mean.. that ball may have rolled another 30 yds off the green??♂️
— Willy Wilcox (@willwilcoxgolf) June 16, 2018
Ok. What’s Philly Mick done?
— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) June 16, 2018
It’s ok. I’ve found video of it!??? . I’ve so often felt like doing that!!!???
— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) June 16, 2018
So much to be said about the Phil situation. 280 characters isn’t enough.
— Arron Oberholser (@ArronOberholser) June 16, 2018
sigh.. Phil is so cutting edge I’m sure we’ll see guys running & swiping at moving balls alot now.. https://t.co/O42x9bD8IX
— Steve Elkington (@elkpga) June 16, 2018