Two-shot penalty added to Tiger’s second round

Tiger Woods was assessed a two-stroke penalty Saturday morning for taking an improper drop on the par-5 15th hole on Friday during the second round of the 77th Masters. As a result, he made a triple-bogey 8 and wound up shooting a 1-over-par 73, and is now tied for 19th, five strokes behind leader Jason Day.

Tiger issued the following statement prior to Saturday’s third round:

“At hole No. 15, I took a drop that I thought was correct and in accordance with the rules. I was unaware at that time I had violated any rules. I didn’t know I had taken an incorrect drop prior to signing my score card. Subsequently, I met with the Masters Committee Saturday morning and was advised they had reviewed the incident prior to completion of my round. Their initial determination was that there was no violation, but they had additional concerns based on my post-round interview. After discussing the situation with them this morning, I was assessed a two-shot penalty. I understand and accept the penalty and respect the Committee’s decision.”

After hitting the pin with his third shot on the 15th hole Friday, Woods’ ball bounced backwards into a water hazard, resulting in a one-stroke penalty. Tiger had three options, and elected to drop near the spot of his third shot. He actually dropped his ball two yards behind the previous position, then made a great up-and-down for what appeared to be a hard-fought bogey.

However, a television viewer called the Rules Committee at Augusta National Golf Club and insisted that Woods had dropped incorrectly. As he was playing the 18th hole, the Rules Committee watched a video of the drop and determined there was no violation.

Later, after Woods spoke to reporters, the Rules Committee decided further review was necessary. They met with Tiger on Saturday morning and informed him that he had violated Rule 26, resulting in a two-stroke penalty. He was not disqualified due to Rule 33, which was enacted by the USGA and R&A in 2011.

The USGA website reads, “revision to Decision 33-7/4.5 addresses the situation where a player is not aware he has breached a Rule because of facts that he did not know and could not reasonably have discovered prior to returning his score card. Under this revised decision and at the discretion of the Committee, the player still receives the penalty associated with the breach of the underlying Rule, but is not disqualified.”