It would appear that Adam Scott’s 2013 Masters Tournament victory has not salved the collective psyches of Australian golf fans who still lament the epic collapse of Greg Norman in the 1996 edition.
Now, video evidence has surfaced showing that 1987 winner Larry Mize broke a rule for which he was not penalised, that would have kept him out of the three-way playoff between him, Norman and Seve Ballesteros.
Ballesteros was eliminated on the first playoff hole, but Norman was relegated to runner-up status when Mize’s miracle chip-in shot on the second playoff hole left Norman standing beside the green in shocked disbelief.
The infraction Mize committed regarded an improper drop on the 15th hole of the final round when he hit into the water and subsequently failed to drop his ball from shoulder height. Had that been caught and the one stroke penalty given to Mize, he would not have been around for the playoff.
The video shows that Mize was several, if not more, inches below shoulder height when he made his drop.
If the cycling authorities can strip Lance Armstrong of his Tour de France titles long after the fact, it would seem to be equally plausible for the overseers of golf, a game that prides itself on strict adherence to rules, self-enforcement of these rules as much as possible and unquestioned integrity would be open to revisiting the issue.
