How some of our columnists and editors feel about the two-stroke penalty given to Tiger Woods at the Masters Saturday:
Peter Schmuck, columnist:
By most accounts, the ruling was correct and penalty appropriate, which is a sign that professional golf has evolved from the time when a player could have days of honorable competition wiped out by some subtle violation he wasn't even aware he committed. I'm still disgusted over the silly ruling that knocked Dustin Johnson out of the PGA Championship in 2010. He grounded his club in an unused bunker that was crowded with fans, but the purists defended that decision because "rules are rules." The 2011 change in the DQ rule would not have saved Johnson, but it was still a big step in the right direction.
Ron Fritz, sports editor: I'm torn. Saturday's ruling was right based on everything I've seen and read. He was given a two-shot penalty and should continue to play. However, I'd like to think that most professional golfers would have called the penalty on themselves on Friday and either taken the penalty or disqualified themselves. The Sun gives out an award to a high school athlete each year called the Hayley Milbourn Integrity Award. In 2007, Haley was a high school golfer at Roland Park and was leading the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland tournament by five strokes with one hole to go. It would have been her third straight title, but she noticed that the ball in her bag was not hers. Somewhere along the line she had played the wrong ball. No one saw it, but she turned herself in and was disqualified. Tiger Woods, you're no Haley Milbourn.