I was reading today that Tiger thought that if they had not been put on the clock that Paddy may not have made the mistakes he made. They both felt they were rushed but Paddy was not really complaining. I thought it was cool that Tiger went to bat for him even though the official had no choice but to put him on the clock they were 17 minutes behind.

It may have cost Paddy being on the clock. Let's just hope he learns to play a bit faster from now on so he doesn't find himself in the same position again.

First of all, the tournament official should never approach the leaders and for the first warning tell them they're on the clock. He should have informed them they were out of position and to speed up a little. If they didn't, then they should inform them they are on the clock. Even after the clock warning, if a player in contention is in trouble, the 40 second rule needs to have leway so they can plan their, not so basic, shot.
I don't think John, the European PGA official, made a good call. The PGA Tournament director had to back him, as the rules said he had the option to make that call. But, keep in mind, there hasn't been a penalty assessed for slow play since 1982.

BTW, they were 17 min. behind the group in front of them, but they were also, on time for the round.

Bill for PGA TOUR President....BILL FOR PGA Tour President!!!

When they offered me the position, I seriously thought about taking it on. Then I read Don's post on how Harrington could only blame himself for being put on the clock. Remembering how much he thinks the "Rules" are like a Hoover vacuum (they suck), I wondered how he could possibly not go goofy and type how unfair the rules were for Harrington and Tiger. I thought it would really burn his butt.
Well, not knowing exactly where Don stands on what rules are good and what are bad, I feared, if I were the one enforcing the rules, it might interfer with Don and my friendship. I don't want to take that chance. If it wasn't for Don, I wouldn't have a measure for other people.
So, I passed on the job.

Bill I think most people would agree that the rull is not always enforced and therefore is not fair at times but that is the human factor. I heard someone say to day the the rules official gave his reason as "At the end of the day I have to look the rest of the field in the eye and so I am not going to make exceptions for anyone." So if that was his call I don't have a problem with that. I think that Paddy will not react the same way a second time. There are a lot of things that make this a questionable call but all are subjective in my opinion. I do think that they need to relook at the wording of the rule and if the intent of the rule is to stop slow paly then it does not apply when there is not one else left to play on the last day of a tournament. I am gald Tiger said something and I hope they look at this closer.

This is how the rule is usually handled and it would comply with the thoughts of the rest of the field.

as a side note...big JD withdrew today from the last major...after shooting a 78 and citing a back injury....hmmmmmmmmm

Bill,

I am sure you are right. I have never played in a tournament where that was an issue in my grouping but I have followed my son in tournaments where they got behind and I do remember then getting a warning but never being put on the clock. I do think your point about there not being an incident where a player had been penalized for slow play in such a long time is an indication of a disparity in enforcement of the rule.