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Lexi Thompson: Where Should Rules Officials Draw the Line?

By Elizabeth Bethel

April 2, 2017; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA; Lexi Thompson hits from the third course tee box during the final round of the ANA Inspiration golf tournament at Mission Hills CC - Dinah Shore Tournament Cou. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
April 2, 2017; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA; Lexi Thompson hits from the third course tee box during the final round of the ANA Inspiration golf tournament at Mission Hills CC - Dinah Shore Tournament Cou. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Lexi Thompson, leading well into the ANA Inspiration final round, lost 4 shots to a viewer call-in penalty – and recovered sufficiently to force a playoff.

Lexi Thompson and Suzann Pettersen looked for all the world like they were previewing the ultimate Sunday Solheim Cup singles match. They weren’t. They were battling it out on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course for the ANA Inspiration championship. Lexi was leading by 2 shots. Then disaster struck.

As she was walking to the 12th tee, LPGA rules officials advised Thompson that she was being penalized 4 strokes for an infraction she’d incurred in the 3rd round. She’d misplaced a ball on the 17th green (2 strokes) and then signed an incorrect score card (2 more strokes).

Thompson’s first reaction, overheard on Golf Channel: “Is this a joke?”

It wasn’t a joke and Thompson struggled to regain her composure. She bogeyed 12, then gathered herself and birdied 13.

But while Thompson soldiered on, regaining the lead, the Twitterverse began to explode.

Tiger Woods, who has also fallen victim to viewers at home calling in rules infractions that the on-course officials missed, weighed in.

Thompson’s friend and Solheim Cup teammate urged her on to a comeback.

Golf Digest’s Ron Sirak offered a reasoned opinion of the wisdom of permitting viewers to call in rules infractions.

And while the tweets registered outrage, dismay, and outright disbelief, the players at the top of the ANA Inspiration leaderboard suddenly found themselves in an entirely unexpected and new golf game.

So Yeon Ruy took the lead by sinking an impossible putt on the 18th green, but Suzann Pettersen, and Lexi Thompson, both one shot back, were still on the golf course, coming down the back nine to the finishing hole. The waiting was thick with anticipation and tension.

Lexi tied it up with a birdie and Pettersen, who finished with a par on the 17th, a hole she’d consistently birdied in the previous three rounds, settled for a 3-way tie for third with Minjee Lee and Inbee Park.

So Yeon Ryu and Leix Thompson went back to the 18th for the playoff with most of the golf world cheering Lexi on. A win would right what many clearly regarded as a gross injustice.

Emily Kay spoke for many of us as the dueling pair teed off.

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But it wasn’t to be. With a drive gone astray and into the deep rough and an impossibly long putt for birdie that in the end was a par, the victory went to So Yeon Ryu.

There’s much to be admired in Lexi Thompson, who regrouped and gathered herself, and dug deep to retrieve and deliver that championship game she carries in her bag.

Ryu, who certainly didn’t expect to win, earned the respect of everyone with her grace and gentility.

But the question of fairness remains unanswered: Is a rules violation decision rendered more than 24 hours after a round has been complete either fair or equitable? At what point do the rules officials step back and accept the round that has been played and recorded as right and legitimate? The official LPGA explanation of this fiasco leaves these questions begging.

Next: LPGA 2017 Rookies to Watch

What’s your opinion on this most recent rules controversy? Did Lexi Thompson, like Anna Nordqvist, fall victim to an over-zealous viewer? Is it right that viewers can call in rules infractions? Should there be a time limit for imposing penalties on completed rounds?

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