The most bizarre story of the week came from the third round of the Zurich Classic involving Stewart Cink. During his 15th hole, Cink hit his shot onto the edge of a fairway bunker. He stepped into the bunker and then stepped out to play his shot. His shot then landed 180 yards away in a greenside bunker. Before playing that next shot, Cink’s caddie raked the fairway bunker in which Cink had stepped. This raking was in violation of a rule regarding testing the surface of a hazard, and because Cink didn’t initially penalize himself, he was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. Had Cink played the original shot from the fairway bunker, there would have been no penalty; but, because of the intricacy of the rules, he was in violation. Golf is a game of integrity and rules are a part of the game, but this situation ranks right up there with the most pointless and stupid rules ever (also see Craig Stadler’s towel situation). How could Cink possibly have gained an unfair advantage from stepping into the fairway bunker? The USGA needs to take a serious look at piddly little interpretations of the rules like this. If tour pros can’t remember all of these goofy rules, how is your average Joe supposed to?
