Tuesday
Jun272017
Sigh: Lexi Declines To Talk To All Media Pre-KPMG
With the KPMG Women's PGA at Olympia Fields, the women's second major would seemingly be a good spot for Lexi Thompson to return to some normalcy after her brutal penalty strokes at the last major.
Instead, Lisa Cornwell reports for Golf Central, Thompson is declining all media requests. This is especially a shame given Thompson's likability, star qualities and age. Hopefully it's a short term situation.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 08:38 PM
Reader Comments (35)
Now it's shunning the only folks who actually listen to you speak about a silly game and then share it with the public.
Somebody needs to drain their swamp.
Mom undergoing cancer treatment per Golf Digest.....
Maybe she has stuff on her mind besides satisfying us
http://golfweek.com/2017/06/28/lpga-lexi-thompsons-mom-undergoing-treatment-for-cancer/
Because Thompson couldn’t prepare for a major as she normally would, and because of the overwhelming emotional toll of the situation, Thompson asked if she could be media-free in the days leading up to competition at Olympia Fields. That’s why the tour’s top American and World No. 4 skipped her usual pre-tournament conference and declined print and television requests.
Not a good look for this particular comments section, I'm afraid.
I saw an interview with “Jack” shortly after it happened, and his comment was the best I saw. Such kinds of infractions, if they are such, are best handled by officials (at the time they happen), or by peers on the sidelines. If someone really is taking advantage of the rules (intentionally not replacing the ball where marked and benefiting from shaved inches and avoiding ball marks, etc.), playing partners should speak to the individual, watch them, and make them realize that they are being watched and questioned. In MOST cases, that will eliminate the problem. After all, golf is supposed to be a game of honor, and most players want to and DO honor it. If the rules are flouted, the score is without honor or honesty.
I have never read that Lexi has a problem with cheating or “bending the rules”. Did she intentionally move her ball (by replacing it correctly)? I don’t know, as I didn’t see the video and was not there, but I strongly suspect she did not. I’ve read that the replaced ball was about a half inch or so “different” than the original spot, but apparently no nearer the cup. The tap in putt was a “gimmie” supposedly. But having some clown call in a Barney Fife “citizen’s arrest” seems absolutely ridiculous. How many putts, one wonders, during the course of any tournament, are the result of inadvertent misplacements of 1/8 to ½ inch? Are not ALL of these “cheating”?
Lexi is good for the LPGA because she is young, good, and an American. If I were the LPGA (and the media covering it), I’d be looking at her as an asset that shouldn’t be scre#ed with, but that’s the media for you. Always looking for flashy dirt first and foremost, with common sense, respect, and honor well off in the weeds.
Yes, Lexi ought to try to put this event behind her, but she should do whatever works best for her to prepare for a good tournament. Not being picked at by jackals (after many times around the barn on the topic) on the eve of the second major seems like a good decision. Go get’em, kiddo.
Lexi did NOT incur a FOUR (your emphasis) shot penalty, she incurred 2 separate, 2 shot penalties.
The officials simply applied the rules of golf to the situation. They did not "proclaim" in any kind of fashion that she cheated.
The fact that none of her fellow competitors (since this was not a team event there were no "playing partners") doesn't mean the infraction did not happen.
You admit to not seeing the video so how can you defend what she did? I did see it and her actions were indefensible. She breached the rule and deserved the penalty, both of them.
This being a full field, stroke play, event there are no concessions, no "gimmies" ( see I K Kim at the same event a few years ago).
"Are not ALL of these cheating?" Simple answer is yes.
You make what I think is an incorrect assumption that the only thing the golf media wants to ask her about is the incident. Since she is one of the Tour's stars my guess is they had a lot of caried topics. She sets the tone at the beginning by simply stating she "won't answer any more questions about the ANA ruling". But I guess it's so much easier to continue to play the victim.
I agree Lexi, in general, is good for the LPGA but she would have served it, and her, better had she owned up to the infraction, admitted that she deserved the penalty, and moved on. I also think the only mistake the rules officials made was having the episode play out live as Lexi walked from green to tee. They should have pulled her aside, inside the ropes near the green, away from the cameras, and explained the situation privately.
Further to what Jack Nicklaus said after Lexi’s ANA situation. Back in that day most players did take care of these types of situations. If players in this era noticed another other player fudging the replacement of their marked ball they would literally stand over them to ensure they’d put their ball back in the same spot and even go so far as to say, “you need to put that ball back in the same spot” if necessary. They had no problem getting in the face of another player if there was a breach. There are many recognized cases where Tom Watson, Ray Floyd, Hale Irwin, Greg Norman and the whole list of players who were responsible to take charge of situations if another player were running fast and loose with the rules.
Lon Hinkle stood up to one of the greats, a World Golf Hall of Fame member, when Lon witnessed him trying to move his ball out of a depression on the green, the same with Billy Kratzert when he confronted another WGHOF member for rules infractions. Back in the day, the players did police other players. Peter Jacobson was another who took charge of situations when there was an infringement with the rules…and this list goes on.
Not so sure that today’s player have a keen enough awareness of the rules let alone have the courage to get in the face of another player if they noticed a breach. It’s too bad many younger players choose to avoid the responsibility that comes with being a professional. Lexi – case in point.
Also it's interesting to me the Bernhard Langer has had his worst putting day of the week at the Sr. Open while being paired with Tom Lehman.