First Hit By The New Rules
The European Tour saw its first known professional to be hit by the new rules changes. In the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, defending champion, Haotong Li lost around £80,000 for a two-shot penalty after an alleged breach of Rule 10.2b (4) when his caddie was adjudged to have helped him line up a putt on the 72nd hole. The decision although defended by the European Tour Officials, was met with a lot of negativity on social media channels.
Paul Lawrie branded it as an “awful decision”, Paul McGinley questioned its “pedanticness”, Eddie Pepperell said it was “shockingly bad”, David Howell labelled it as “utterly ridiculous” and Denis Pugh claimed the people who made the call “should all hold their heads in shame”. |