Armchair official part two

Unbelievable. A month after Camilo Villegas was sent packing in Hawaii by a viewer phonecall, Padraig Harrington was given his marching orders by an e-mail. It is a strange set of circumstances where viewers can exercise such influence on the outcome of a competition

Rumours are rife that the R&A have been resisting a change to the rules that would allow a player who has signed for a card, whilst unaware that they had broekn a rule, to remain within the competition. This high profile case is likely to reopen that debate and as someone new to golf I find the whole thing quite shocking.

Yes he should have been penalised two shots, yes he should have been more observant, yes players are responsible for ensuring they play within the rules but it was an oversight, no advantage was gained and while the pedants may rejoice, the tournament has been deprived of one of its stars. Even more sad is that he was shining so brightly.

So here's hoping that the blazers see sense and introduce a rule that prevents these unnecessary disqualifications. Add an additional shot penalty if they must and make it applicable for only a single infraction. Just make sure that something like this doesn't sour a sweet victory in the future, especially not in a Major.