AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta National officials will continue to take viewer information as it pertains to possible rules violations during the Masters.
But it is clear the club would favor new rules that would limit such video interaction in determining rules issues.
The Rules of Golf allow for and encourage information from all sources be used to determine if rules were breached, a big issue again in the light of the Lexi Thompson ruling on Sunday at the ANA Inspiration tournament that resulted in 4 penalty strokes, costing her a major championship title.
"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 Fred Ridley, chairman of the Masters competition committee, during club chairman Billy Payne's annual media address.
"So we hope very much that something appropriate, 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.''
The United States Golf Association and the R&A -- golf's governing bodies -- announced on March 1 a proposed revamping of the rules that would reduce the total number and simplify them. As part of that, use of video to determine rules violations after an infraction might be limited or more "common sense'' applied.
How that might have affected Thompson is unclear. After an email was sent to the LPGA on Sunday questioning the way she had marked her ball on the 17th green Saturday, it was determined she committed a violation. That's a 2-stroke penalty. Because she had signed her scorecard, another 2 strokes were added. Thompson ended up losing in a playoff.
As Ridley pointed out, Augusta National is not a governing body, it simply plays the Masters by the rules set forth by the USGA.
Ridley is a former president of the USGA. And he was involved in Augusta's most recent rules issue that occurred in 2013 when a television viewer called to question a drop taken by Tiger Woods on the 15th hole of the second round.
Augusta rules officials dismissed the information and never discussed it with Woods before he signed his scorecard; afterward, in remarks to the media, Woods described the drop in such a way that suggested he unwittingly committed a violation. The issue was discovered overnight, but because Augusta National never disclosed the information it had to Woods, the rules committee made the rare decision to invoke a rule in which disqualification would be avoided.
Until 2016, players were disqualified for such scorecard errors. Thompson would have been disqualified were it not for new language which takes into account video review after a card is signed. But that includes an extra two strokes for the scorecard violation.
Under the proposed simplified rules -- that would not go into effect until 2019 -- it is possible that the two-stroke scorecard violation would be waived.
Over the years, Masters officials have been asked if they might consider using their own tournament golf ball to combat the need to keep lengthening Augusta National, which now approaches 7,500 yards.
"I think the greatest development since (that talk surfaced) is that the governing bodies, the USGA and the R&A, now have a more concentrated, concerned effort about that issue, as they do with the other rules," Payne said. "They are working together to ensure that it does not become a problem, and as is always the case, we have great confidence in their ability to forge a solution.
"But of course, as you would imagine, we always reserve the right to do whatever we have to do to preserve the integrity of our golf course. But I don't think that (a Masters golf ball) will ever happen.''