Rule that cost Furyk place at Barclays is suspended
In the wake of overwhelming criticism from, among others, world No. 2 Phil Mickelson, the USPGA has taken the decision to suspend the rule that saw America's Jim Furyk disqualified from the Barclays last week.
Furyk was due to take part in a pro-am event on the eve of the New Jersey tournament last Wednesday, but when his alarm failed to wake him at the correct time, the 40-year-old turned up five minutes late for his 7.30am tee-off time.
That tardy arrival led to a hefty punishment, as Furyk was disqualified from the main event, costing the world No. 6 valuable points in the FedEx Cup play-offs, which continue this week at the Deutsch Bank Championship. Before his expulsion, Furyk had held third place in the standings, but he has now fallen to eighth place after missing last week's tournament.
At the time, Furyk accepted his punishment in resigned fashion, though fellow US star Mickelson was less restrained, calling the ruling "ridiculous" and adding: "I cannot disagree with it more - I have no idea how the commissioner let this rule go through."
Mickelson's words have clearly been heeded, with the PGA Tour announcing the rule is to be put on hold for the remainder of this year, though not entirely scrapped.
"Hereafter, should a player be late for his pro-am starting time, the situation will be handled as a matter of unbecoming conduct," said a PGA Tour statement.
"Such player will be required to participate in the remainder of the pro-am round and may be required to perform additional sponsor activity.
"A player who misses his pro-am obligation in its entirety will still be ruled ineligible for the tournament unless he has been excused in accordance with the provisions of the regulations.
"The commissioner has asked the Player Advisory Council and Player Directors to evaluate the current pro-am regulations to determine whether alternative measures can effectively ensure that players honour their pro-am obligations without placing them at risk of disqualification.
"The matter will be discussed at the Policy Board meeting in November."
Mickelson's main complaint, previous to the announcement of the rule change, was that the rule applied only to half of the field, since not every player is required to turn out for the pro-am.
"If you're going to have a rule that does not apply to everybody you cannot have it affect the competition," Mickelson insisted. "It's not protecting the players. It's not protecting the sponsors. Yet it affects the integrity of the competition."
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