Woods adamant that latest penalty undeserved
Tiger Woods didn’t get off to the best start Friday — and it went downhill from there, culminating in a 2-stroke penalty levied at the end of his round.
After splitting the fairway beautifully on No. 1 to begin his day, Woods’ second shot flew the green and left him with an impossible chip. Then after missing the green on his third shot, he finally got it on but 2-putted for a double bogey.
Little did Woods know that courtesy of a freelance videographer currently working as part of the PGA Tour entertainment crew, Woods would get 2 more strokes added to his final score at the end of the round.
That’s because prior to his third shot on No. 1, his ball moved.
“He had a pretty large loose impediment behind his ball which he moved and was no problem at all,” said Slugger White, the PGA Tour vice president of rules and competitions. “There was a little stick of some sort next to his ball and when he rolled that, his ball, the ball in fact moved.”
What did Tiger say about the incident?
“He knew there was movement but was adamant that it oscillated, it stayed there,” White said. “But the video was at the site and the ball did in fact move.”
Even after seeing the video, Woods was still adamant.
“He looked at the video and clearly felt the ball just oscillated,” White said. “It’s pretty clear that the ball did move.”
Courtesy of the penalty, Woods finished with a round of 72, tied for 13th place.
He will be part of the most intriguing pairing of the third round when he tees off alongside his good buddy Sergio Garcia at 11:50 a.m.
The rookie is on fire:After shooting an even-par 71 on Thursday, rookie sensation Jordan Spieth lit it up Friday with a 6-under 66 that has him tied for fourth. #147;For the most part I was on the correct tier today,#148; said Spieth, who is on track to become the youngest player to compete in the Tour Championship in Atlanta next week. #147;I didn#146;t have to stress too much. #147;All in all, happy about being able to make 8 birdies on the day and still not birdieing any of the Par 5s.Backup plan:For the second consecutive day, fans coming to the tournament via northbound 94 found themselves stuck in a quite a backup within a mile or so of the Route 60 exit.Here#146;s the helpful hint of the day for those planning to attend the BMW Championship today: Unless you absolutely have to use Route 60, don#146;t. Find an alternate route.Woe is Rory:A day after firing an opening-round 78, defending BMW champion Rory McIlroy followed that with a 77 and finds himself all alone in last place in the field of 70.#147;I just don#146;t have my scoring hat,#148; McIlroy said. #147;I#146;m just not scoring as well as I need to.#148;He said it:#147;There#146;s a big gap between guys playing well and guys struggling. I think maybe if you#146;re on, it#146;s something you can go out and get, and if you#146;re off, it#146;s penalizing. There#146;s no in between, really.#148;#151; Nick Watneyno sales37392665Tiger Woods eyes a birdie put on the 8th hole during the second-round of the BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest Friday.Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.comno sales