Another Boo Boo-Boo

Boo Weekley, the good ol’ boy who blew the Honda Classic a couple weeks ago when he missed a three-foot putt on the final hole of regulation, screwed up again today at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Weekley incurred a two-stroke penalty on the second hole when he illegally tended the flagstick for fellow competitor Tom Johnson. In fairness to Boo, he thought he was saving Johnson from a penalty but it turned his own 67 into a 69. Johnson was on the front of the green 85 feet from the hole and forgot to ask his caddie to tend the flag. After he hit his chip – from the green’s surface – it started running toward the unattended flagstick. Weekley knew Johnson would be assessed a two-stroke penalty if his ball hit the flagstick so he ran over and pulled the pin out of the hole.

That was a big oops! Rule 17-2 states that “If an opponent or his caddie or a fellow-competitor or his caddie in stroke play, without the player’s authority or prior knowledge, attends, removes or holds up the flagstick during the stroke or while the ball is in motion, and the act might influence the movement of the ball, the opponent or fellow-competitor incurs the applicable penalty” which in this case is two strokes.

As luck would have it, a spectator who knew the rules mentioned it to an official, who questioned Weekley and Johnson after the round and assessed the penalty. The penalty dropped Weekley from a tie for 10th place to a tie for 21st place. Maybe Boo can find someone to read the rules to him.

Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Marty Fleckman.