Fred Ridley, a member of the Masters Competition Committee, said the Masters never even thought about disqualifying Tiger Woods in a press conference less than an hour before Woods was set to tee off after a controversial two-stroke penalty that was assessed for an illegal drop after he signed his scorecard.
Ridley said the tournament was about “integrity,” that “John Smith” would have received the same penalty, the tournament gets calls from viewers every day and what happened on Thursday when a viewer reportedly called to inform the Masters about Woods’s rule violation was a “normal occurrence.”
“Disqualification this morning was not even on the table,” Ridley said, noting there was “ample” evidence for the Masters to not disqualify Woods.
Ridley reiterated that the committee had determined Woods had not violated the drop rule before Woods finished the round and the Masters took “no further action” until Woods’s post-round comments.
Because the Masters determined Woods signed his scorecard incorrectly while not knowing he was doing so at the time, he was protected by an amendment to a 2012 rule that allows the committee to assess Woods a two-stroke penalty and not disqualify him.
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