[O.B.Left]

..."ratted out" ?

Excuse me, I sent that from Iphone in haste. I retract "ratted out".

Bamberger is a very fine writer. Exceptional. Wie was in the wrong no doubt. I allude to post facto, viewers and spectators etc making calls about rules violations. I dont have a problem with blatant violations. But it seems to me that sometimes given the circumstances they are unjust.

Im sure there has been many a time that a benevolent tournament director has turned a blind eye to an inconsequential mistake/offense. Once the tv guys/we know about it, it is beyond correction perhaps. This sort of thing making for good tv, sadly.

I nearly puked watching the British Open last year with the cameras zoomed in on the hovering putters and the wind oscillating balls. "This guy did ground his putter, this guy didnt ..........." Just zoom out for crying out loud before I hurl.

Justice may be blind but I like her to use her sense of smell sometimes in a benevolent way. Although on the other hand a star player berating an official into a favourable ruling smells bad, very bad.

Maybe that is just me. In a compassionate way I would also have given Roberto De Vicenzo his birdie on 17 in the 1968 Masters. This is a complex issue. I respect the rules of golf. I honour the memory of Bobby Jones walking out of the woods to call a penalty on himself. I acknowledge there are opinions contrary to mine on this issue. I really just want the rules to be officiated over by one body not a tv announcer or a cell phone user. No other sport does this that I can think of.

Sorry for this off topic meander.

Back to the books. "Links Land" is inspired, yes.

ob