Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Rory McIlroy and Arnold Palmer have all been involved in gaffes
Bobby Jones was once credited with saying, “You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank” after he was lauded for calling a penalty on himself. The Masters founder had a point, but with all the cameras focused on Augusta National each April, players in that tournament really don’t have to worry about confessing anymore – the world is seemingly watching their every move. Here are some of the most memorable Masters rules incidents through the years.
Tiger Woods
15th hole, second round, 2013
Woods hit a near-perfect wedge shot, but the ball struck the flagstick and ricocheted into the pond fronting the green. After taking the stroke penalty, Woods considered his options for dropping and settled on a spot two steps back from where he last hit (to avoid another rebound off the flagstick). Woods then knocked it stiff and saved bogey.
David Eger, a former PGA Tour player and rules official, was watching on TV and noticed that Woods seemed to have dropped from the wrong place and called Masters officials to report it. After reviewing video of the drop, then-competition chair Fred Ridley cleared Woods of any violation for playing from the wrong place. Then things took a turn. Woods finished the round, signed his scorecard and went into the media centre to talk about what had happened. He told reporters that he had dropped two yards behind his original shot. Whoops.
The inadvertent admission of guilt (it wasn’t one of the legal drop options) meant Woods had signed for a 6 when he really made an 8. That’s grounds for disqualification typically, but because Ridley didn’t initially notice the violation, which prompted Woods to turn in the wrong score, the committee invoked former Rule 33-7 to avoid having to disqualify him. Instead, they changed his score to an 8. (The rules have since changed prohibiting TV viewers from reporting penalties.)
Jeff Maggert
Third hole, final round, 2003
Maggert started Sunday with a two-shot lead over Mike Weir and was still up one heading to the 350-yard par-4. Maggert hit his tee shot in a fairway bunker and then attempted to clip the ball out, but it ricocheted off the lip and struck him in the chest. That resulted in a two-shot penalty for touching a moving ball, and Maggert made a triple-bogey 7. He wound up finishing fifth, five shots behind Weir.
“I guess my reflexes aren’t what they used to be,” Maggert said.
One note: it’s no longer a penalty if you hit yourself, or anyone else, accidentally (Rule 11.1).
Brooks Koepka
15th hole, first round, 2023
After Koepka hit an iron for his second shot at the par 5, cameras seemed to catch his caddie, Ricky Elliott, mouthing “five” to Gary Woodland and his caddie, Brennan Little. Many thought it was clearly a case of giving advice to another player, which comes with a two-stroke penalty (now Rule 10.2). Koepka also appeared to flash five fingers.
However, no penalty was assessed. Augusta National officials said, “All involved were adamant that no advice was given or requested.”
Ernie Els
11th hole, third round, 2004
Battling Phil Mickelson, Els hooked his tee shot way off the fairway into a pile of fallen branches. Originally denied free relief by two officials, Els asked for another opinion. Will Nicholson, the competition committee chair, agreed with Els’ contention that the branches were piled for removal and should be treated as ground under repair. “In South Africa, we call it ‘greenskeeper’s rubble’, and I felt pretty strongly about [getting free relief],” Els said.
Before Nicholson arrived, Els also removed some of the limbs and his ball appeared to move, which would have resulted in a penalty. Eventually it was deemed the ball oscillated but did not move, sparing Els again. He salvaged a bogey but ended up losing by one stroke to Mickelson.
Tianlang Guan
17th hole, second round, 2013
Rules official John Paramor had spoken to the 14-year-old Guan four times for slow play, giving him the last warning as he walked to the tee. Guan asked how long he had to play a shot, and Paramor told him “40 seconds”. When Guan took 65 on his approach shot, Paramor gave him a one-shot penalty. Showing class, Guan said, “I respect the decision.” He went on to make the cut and finish 58th, the low amateur.
Arnold Palmer,
12th hole, final round, 1958
Leading Ken Venturi by one as they arrived at the par 3, Palmer hit a tee shot that landed over the green and plugged. Under a local rule providing free relief for embedded balls, Palmer felt he was entitled to lift his ball and Venturi agreed. However, rules official Arthur Lacey told Palmer he had to play it as
it lies.
Palmer disputed the ruling, then angrily chopped the ball out, eventually making a double-bogey. After holing out, Palmer then played another ball, taking relief from the plugged lie and making par. He said he would let the committee decide which counted for his score.
Venturi contended Palmer played the second ball incorrectly – that it needed to be done concurrently.
By the time Palmer reached the 15th hole, the ruling came down that his second-ball score of par would stand. He went on to win his first major by a stroke over Fred Hawkins and Doug Ford. Venturi finished two behind.
Years later, Palmer said he had told Lacey he was going to play a second ball, but Lacey wouldn’t let him. The wording of the rule in 1958 left the tournament committee with enough latitude to let his actions stand. Their statement: “Should the competitor fail to announce in advance his procedure or selection, the score with the second ball shall be his score if played in accordance with the rules.”
Rory McIlroy
18th hole, second round, 2009
After leaving a bunker shot in the sand on the par-4 finishing hole, McIlroy appeared to have kicked the sand in frustration (a two-stroke penalty). He would have been disqualified if that was true, because McIlroy signed his scorecard without the penalty adjustment.
His actions were called into question and he was summoned back to Augusta National to review video and provide an explanation. The club released a statement exonerating McIlroy of the penalty because he said he was only trying to tidy the sand, which is allowed under the Rules of Golf.
Roberto De Vicenzo
17th hole, final round, 1968
In what is the all-time Masters rules gaffe, a final-round scoring mistake overshadowed one of the greatest duels in tournament history. On his 45th birthday, Roberto De Vicenzo eagled the first hole, turned in 31 and, even with a bogey on 18, shot a 65.
However, his playing partner, Tommy Aaron, wrote down a par for his score on the 17th instead of the birdie he made. After the round, De Vicenzo signed for the 66 instead of a 65. Meanwhile, in the following group, Bob Goalby, who began the day a stroke ahead of De Vicenzo, birdied 13 and 14 and eagled 15 for a 66 and a one-shot victory.
There should have been a playoff. Instead, when you sign for a higher score than you actually make, the higher score stands (now Rule 3.3). Goalby put on the green jacket, and De Vicenzo was left to utter one of the most famous quotes in golf history: “What a stupid I am.”
The PGA Tour enacted a Local Rule in 2024 that provides 15 minutes of extra time to correct scorecard errors. If used at the Masters in ’68, would that have changed golf history?
