A 'Major' Error of Judgement

LPGA commissioner Mike Whan’s recent decision - the second time in five years - to cut the LPGA Tour’s final ‘Major,’ the Evian Championship in France to 54 holes due to a near wash-out of the first day was a rare error of judgment

It is undoubtedly inconceivable that the USGA or The R&A would even contemplate reducing the U.S. Women’s Open or the Ricoh Women’s British Open to 54 holes. Let alone rubbing salt in the wound and adding insult to injury by erasing any scores achieved before the abandonment of play from the record book.

Meanwhile, Ryu So-yeon, sitting pretty on three-under-par after six holes of the opening round that never was, slumped to a four-over 75 the following day, a reverse she was never to recover from, going from championship leader to a tie for 40th place. Or, to put it another way, earning US$16,874 as opposed to the US$547,500 she might have won had the course of events not been artificially altered.

As for Ms Nordqvist, a champion of course, but a worthy winner? Her second ‘Major’ title will forever be diluted and discredited by an unnecessary and unfair intervention by officialdom more concerned with getting finished on time than staging a fair, honest and sporting contest that would stand scrutiny and the test of time.

But then with a mineral water as title sponsor and an event staged in a location and at a time of year when heavy rain and high winds are well known, perhaps having the fifth and final ‘Major,’ not to mention the reputation of women’s golf ending up in a watery grave was just par for the course.

Pages

Click here to see the published article.