My Top 10 Rulings

Mak Lok-lin, fresh from his latest golfing disaster, remembers the times when the Rules (or the interpretation of them) either helped or hindered the world’s finest players

1 Ian Woosnam
2001 Open Championship
Royal Lytham & St Annes

Lytham is unique on the Open rota in that its first hole is a par three. It is no pushover however and regularly plays as one of the toughest holes on the course.
Trailing by a shot at the start of the final round in 2001, Woosnam made his intentions clear when he almost holed in one; the ensuing tap-in birdie moving the 1991 Masters champion into a share of the lead – and inching him closer to his second Major title. A few minutes later as he stood on the second tee his caddie, Miles Byrne, turned to him and said, “You’re going to go ballistic, but I’ve got an extra club in here.” After trying two different drivers at the range before his round, Woosnam had teed off with both in his bag, making 15 clubs in total, a breach of rule 4-4 and resulting in a two-stroke penalty. His brilliant birdie two was quickly erased and a bogey four was penciled on the scorecard. Woosnam administered what he described as a “bollocking” but didn’t fire Byrne on the spot. Despite also dropping shots at the next two holes, the wee Welshman played the next 15 in 4-under, carded a 71 and finished tied for third. Excluding just the penalty he would have placed solo second, but without the other dropped shots and the loss of momentum he may well have gone on to take the title.
Woosnam eventually fired Byrne two weeks later, when he failed to show up for an early tee time in Sweden. Woosie had to break into his locker to get his shoes, but shot a 69 with replacement caddie Tommy Strand on the bag. Strand said afterwards: “I had no time for breakfast and only had a drink of water on the fourth tee - but I did count the clubs!”

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