Should Tiger Woods have been playing golf on the weekend?

There is, perhaps, no definitive answer to that question because ultimately it comes down to how one inteprets the spirit of Rule 33.7, a 2011 revision under which "a penalty of disqualification may in exceptional individual cases be waived, modified or imposed if the Committee considers such action warranted."  Rule 33.7 was spurred heavily by Padraig Harrington’s disqualification from the 2011 Abu Dhabi Championship after he putted a ball which he was unaware had moved a fraction of an inch after he’d replaced it, then DQ’d because the violation was confirmed after he’d signed a thus incorrect scorecard; the rule would seem to be intended to protect an innocent player from being banished based upon circumtances of which he was essentially unaware.  In one sense, that standard might well be used to justify Woods not being disqualified, because had Augusta’s Competition Committee correctly penlized his 15th-hole Friday drop upon first reviewing it (instead of later deciding that perhaps they really had to after Woods announced on national television that he had, in fact, dropped his ball two yards away behind the appropriate spot), the issue of an incorrect card would never have arisen.  This is, undeniably, a fair and logical interpretation of events, and thus seems a reasonable decision.

But there is alternative point of view – and this one points to two reasons why Woods should have been sent packing. 

The first reason lies in how a Committee opts to interpret the phrase “in exceptional individual cases” – or, more directly, what one considers to be the spirit of the rule.  Padraig Harrington was DQ’d for signing a scorecard which failed to reflect a rules violation which he could not reasonably have known had even taken place.  He was truly a man caught in an unfortunate situation.  Woods, on the other hand, attempted to gain a competitive advantage (a slightly longer shot that he felt more comfortable with) when he mistakenly believed that he could drop his ball two yards further back.  He was not, of course, attempting to cheat – but he was knowingly attempting to improve his lot in violation of the rules, an entirely different situation from the unwitting golfer snagged by circumstance.

Which leads us to the second reason, the fundamental notion that, very simply, the player is responsible for knowing the rules.  Being unaware that a violation has inadvertently taken place (as in Harrington’s case) is one thing; creating the violation because one did not properly understand the rules is, it seems to me, something altogether different.  There may be an element of splitting hairs here, but I find myself guided by the words of USGA Executive Director Mike Davis who, at the time Rule 33.7 was announced, stated:  “Ignorance of the rules will not in this particular case get a player off disqualification, if he breaches a rule, doesn't include the penalty, and then returns a scorecard.”

Would it have been fair to Tiger had the Committee, after making their mistake, disqualified him?  Not really.

But it would, I believe, have been fairer than failing to protect the rest of the field from his violation – and the unfortunate administrative failing which followed.

The Masters  -  Adam Scott  (279)
Asian Tour - Solaire Open  -  Wen-Tang Lin  (285)
JLPGA Tour - Studio Alice Open  -  Na-Ri Kim  (212)
Web.com Tour - WNB Classic  -  Alex Aragon  (272)

On a day when a struggling Rory McIlroy might well have landed his first win of 2013, Scotland’s Martin Laird fired a course record-tying 63 to claim a stunning victory in the Valero Texas Open.  Laird began the final round five shots behind 54-hole leader Billy Horschel but erased the deficit almost immediately, carding birdies on five of his first eight holes.  Another birdie at the 12th put Laird on top, just in time to be chased by the hard-charging McIlroy, whose closing 66 would otherwise have been the day’s best round by two shots.  But with the world number two close on his heels, Laird made one final push, reeling of birdies at the last three holes to pull away to a two-shot margin of victory.  The win was Laird’s third on the PGA Tour but his first since the 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational,and it earned him the final spot in the field for next week’s Masters.  McIlroy,meanwhile, could take solace in his best finish of the year and some apparent momentum going into the season’s first Major, just two weeks after being dethroned from his world number one spot by Tiger Woods.  Horschel closed with a respectable 71 to share third with a pair of players who closed with 69, Jim Furyk and Charley Hoffman.  Also in the hunt, briefly, was last week’s European Tour winner Marcel Siem who, playing on sponsor exemption and pursuing that final Masters invite, briefly closed to within one of the Sunday lead before a triple-bogey at the 12th consigned him to a tie for 10th...............Managing to overcome a triple-bogey seven at the third hole, thirty-three-year-old Australian Wade Ormsby righted the ship to card a closing 71 and claim his first professional victory at the Asian Tour's Panasonic Open India.  It was a rare wire-to-wire triumph as Ormsby opened with rounds of 67-67, before a Saturday 74 left him one ahead of Lam Chih Bing of Singapore, and three up on India’s Shiv Kapur and 56-year-old Boonchu Ruangkit of Thailand.  Though Lam would briefly grab the lead early on Sunday, the most sustained challenge was mounted by European Senior Tour veteran Ruangkit, who closed with 69 to in a bid to become the Asian Tour’s oldest-ever winner, but in the end he would finish solo second, one stroke behind Ormsby.

PGA Tour - Valero Texas Open  -  Martin Laird  (274)
Asian Tour - Panasonic Open India  -  Wade Ormsby  (279)
LPGA Tour - Kraft Nabisco Championship  -  Inbee Park  (273)
JLPGA Tour - Yamaha Ladies Open  -  Mamiko Higa  (284) 
Web.com Tour - Brazil Classic  -  Benjamin Alvarado  (265)

Enduring a three-hour final-nine rain delay during which he held a precarious one-stroke lead, D.A. Points returned to make four closing pars – the last via a clutch 13-foot putt – to claim his second career PGA Tour victory at the Shell Houston Open.  Using a putter he long ago borrowed from his mother, Points was the tournament’s opening-round leader with a 64, then slipped somewhat with back-to-back rounds of 71 before rallying for the closing 66 that ultimately carried him home.  His final birdie came at the par-5 13th where a chip destined to roll well by struck the pin, leaving a tap-in, and Points had to get up-and-down at both the 17th and the 18th in order to hold on for victory.  Aced out of a playoff by Points’ final putt were Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (who closed with a 66 to record his second straight PGA Tour top 10 finish and, more importantly, secure a spot in The Masters by ending the week among the top 50 of the OWR) and American Billy Horschel, who cashed what was by far the largest paycheck of his career.  For Points, the win represents a major turnaround in a season that began with seven missed cuts in nine starts, and was his first since claiming the 2011 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, with actor Bill Murray as his pro-am partner.  Twenty players were clumped within four shots of the lead when Sunday began, and several big names made runs at the lead.  Dustin Johnson actually surged in front early in the afternoon before a bogey at the 12th derailed him, though his closing 65 was good enough to tie for fourth with Ben Crane, whose final-round 64 was the day’s lowest.  Phil Mickelson (T16), Kevin Chappell (T6) and long-hitting Jason Kokrak (9th) also got within shouting distance before all eventually falling back, while Monday Qualifier and 36-hole leader Steve Wheatcroft closed 72-74, ultimately tying for 22nd...............It was a day of great jubilation and great disappointment for Germany's Marcel Siem.  The first, second and third round leader of Morocco's Trophee Hassan II, the ponytailed 32-year-old Siem entered the final round riding a four-shot margin and with the potential to earn a ticket to The Masters were he to hold on for the victory.  Two-time E Tour winner Mikko Ilonen of Finland proved Siem's greatest challenger, actually catching him in the early going after making birdies at the second, third and fourth.  But Siem responded with birdies at the fifth and seventh, pulled further ahead when Ilonen bogeyed the par-5 10th and pretty much salted it away when the Fin logged an untimely double-bogey at the 211-yard 12th.  Indeed, only two late Ilonen birdies combined with Siem's bogey at the last allowed the winning margin to close to three strokes, with England's David Horsey joining Ilonen in second.  Such was Siem's jubilation.  The disappointment came in the hours to follow when Henrik Stenson tied for second at the Shell Houston Open, leaping to 43rd in the OWR and bumping Siem agonizingly to 51st - one place shy of the coveted Masters invitation.  The win was Siem's third career title on the European Tour, and he readily copped to placing a Saturday night phone call to his nation's greatest-ever golfer, Bernhard Langer, to ask for advice on how best to handle a four-shot lead...............Firing a dazzling eight-under-par final-round 64, Australian veteran Scott Hend won the inaugural Chiangmai Golf Classic in Chiangmai, Thailand, cruising home ahead of South African rookie Bryce Easton by three.  The victory was the 40-year-old Hend’s third career Asian Tour triumph and was largely made possible by the Sunday collapse of Thai star Prayad Marksaeng, who built a commanding five-stroke 54-hole lead with rounds of 65-67-66 before crashing to a closing 74, leaving him alone in third.  The 25-year-old Easton, playing in his first Asian Tour event, matched Hend’s closing 64 but had began the day too far back after a Saturday 72 had slowed his progress.  Up-and-coming 23-year-old Chinese prospect Mu Hu was also a factor, logging his first Asian Tour top-five finish after closing with 68, good for solo fourth.  The event drew a strong field given both its newness and its place on the schedule, with Hall-of-Famer Ernie Els (T14) and 2009 PGA Champion Y.E. Yang (T20) heading up a strong list of international entries...............With the Japan Tour breaking new ground by playing its second consecutive season-opening event on foreign soil, 39-year-old South Korean Ho-Sung Choi survived a long Sunday rain delay to emerge victorious in the Indonesia PGA Championship, edging countryman Young-Han Song, Japanese veteran Kaname Yokoo and Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines by two.  Despite being a longtime professional, Choi, a regular on the Korean domestic tour, had never played a Japan Tour event prior to the season-opening Thailand Open, where he withdrew after an opening-round 73.  But in Jakarta, after trailing 36-hole leader Song on Friday evening, he closed with rounds of 65-67 (the jumpstarted by an opening eagle) to claim the trophy.  Japan Tour regulars Hideto Tanihara and Toshinori Muto shared fifth place on 272, while the group on 273 included notables Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, Wen-Chon Liang of China and homestanding star Yuta Ikeda. 

PGA Tour - Shell Houston Open  -  D.A. Points  (272)
European Tour -  Trophee Hassan II  -  Marcel Siem  (271)
Japan Tour - Indonesia PGA Championship  -  Ho-Sung Choi  (269)
Asian Tour - Chiangmai Golf Classic  -  Scott Hend  (268)
OneAsia Tour - See Japan Tour (Above)
LET -  Lalla Meryem Cup  -  Ariya Jutanugarn  (270)
JLPGA Tour - AXA Ladies  -  Natsuka Hori  (202)

With his second win in as many starts, Tiger Woods returned to number one in the Official World Ranking for the first time since October, 2010 by claiming the rain-delayed Arnold Palmer Invitational, edging Justin Rose by two.  Woods initially thrust himself into the picture on Friday when he pulled within one of then-leader Justin Rose through 15 holes, only to finish with three straight bogeys to tumble back into the crowd.  But a third-round 66 (keyed by an eagle at Bay Hill Lodge & Club's short par-5 16th) pushed him to a two-shot 54-hole lead - a lead he would essentially have to sleep on twice after Sunday rains wiped out play with the leaders having completed two holes.  But Woods added two quick birdies on Monday morning and was never seriously pressured thereafter.  Rickie Fowler pulled within two with a birdie at the 14th before burying himself with a triple-bogey eight at the 16th, leaving Justin Rose to claim solo second, three shots ahead of Fowler, Keegan Bradley, Mark Wilson and Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.  The victory, Woods' 77th on the PGA Tour, also tied Sam Snead's 48-year-old record by winning the event for the eighth time, a feat accomplished by Snead at the Greater Greensboro Open between 1935-1968.  Woods cited improved health as a key factor in his three early 2013 wins, sparking considerable talk of his game now being back near the level it occupied before injuries, scandal and swing problems derailed his career...............In an event shortened to 54 holes by multiple rain interruptions, Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat claimed his first career European Tour victory by carding a final-round two-under-par 70 to win the Maybank Malaysian Open.  The 23-year-old Aphibarnrat had to work hard for his money on Sunday, beginning the round one stroke ahead of 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and ultimately being challenged by ex-Ryder Cupper Edoardo Molinari and three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington before emerging victorious. A birdie at the third and an eagle at the fifth extended his lead, but Aphibarnrat then gave the competition an opening by bogeying the seventh and 12th.  In the meantime, Molinari, who had struggled since returning from 2012 wrist surgery, closed with a 67 to post 204 and take the lead in the clubhouse, and Harrington went out in 31, launching himself into the fray.  Aphibarnrat pulled ahead of Molinari with a birdie at the 14th before a two-hour rain delay dragged play to a halt, but a birdie at the 16th as action resumed, combined with Harrington coming home in 39, ultimately sealed the victory.  Denmark’s Anders Hansen tied for Sunday’s low round (66) en route to claiming solo third while young Frenchman Victor Dubuisson tied for fourth with Schwartzel (who closed with a disappointing 71) three shots off the pace.  For Aphibarnrat, previously a winner of the Asian Tour’s 2011 SAIL Open, the victory earns him full-time status on the European Tour, as well as a jump to 85th in the OWR...............And the beat rolled on for Jaco Van Zyl, who needed a playoff but ultimately won for the third time in his last four South African starts, claiming the inuagural 30-player Investec Cup on the first hole of sudden death versus Hennie Otto.  For most of Sunday the main story was the veteran Otto, who began play six shots behind the front-running Van Zyl before carding a bogey-free 10-under-par 62 to take the lead, requiring Van Zyl to birdie the par-5 18th just to tie.  Playing the 18th once more, Van Zyl dumped his second in the water but scrambled for par; Otto pulled his approach left and chipped poorly, his bogey handing Van Zyl both the title and an additional R2 million for winning the event's season-long bonus pool.    Justin Walters, who closed with 67, took solo third, two shots out of the playoff.  The event was limited to players qualified (via accumulated poibts since last October) and utilized three sites, with the final 36 holes played at the Lost City Golf Club.

PGA Tour - Arnold Palmer Invitational  -  Tiger Woods (275)
European Tour - Maybank Malaysian Open  -  Kiradech Aphibarnrat  (203) 
Asian Tour - See European Tour (Above)
Sunshine Tour - Investec Cup  -  Jaco Van Zyl  (267)
LatinoAmerica - TransAmerica Power Products CRV Open  -  Manuel Villegas  (276)
LPGA Tour - Kia Classic  -  Beatriz Recari  (279)
JLPGA Tour - T Point Ladies  -  Yuki Ichinose  (202)
Champions Tour - Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic  -  Michael Allen  (205)
Web.com Tour - Chitimacha Louisiana Open  -  Edward Loar  (267)
Symetra Tour - Florida's Natural Charity Classic  -  Melissa Eaton  (206)

It took 34-year-old Kevin Streelman 153 starts to claim victory on the PGA Tour, but the former Duke University Blue Devil and mini-tour regular made his perserverance pay off by closing with a flawless 67 over the Innisbrook Resort’s demanding Copperhead course to claim the Tampa Bay Championship.  On a day which saw Boo Weekley tee off three hours before the leaders, shoot a dazzling 63 and set the bar at eight-under-par, Streelman never blinked coming down the homestretch, recording a clutch birdie at the par-3 17th to clinch a two-shot margin over Weekley, with Cameron Tringale (who closed with 66) taking solo third, three shots adrift.  Also coming up big was 19-year-old Jordan Spieth, whose chip in at the 71st hole allowed him to tie for seventh, and thus narrowly earn enough to qualify for special temporary Tour membership, allowing him to take unlimited sponsor exemptions for the duration of 2013.  For Streelman, whose previous claim to fame was winning the $1 million Kodak Bonus competition in 2009, the run home included nary a bogey over the final 37 holes and culminates a long road that included logging over 400,000 miles of mini-tour driving before finally arriving on the PGA Tour in 2008.  The victory was also the 14th straight by an American on the PGA Tour, a streak dating to late 2012, and the longest such run since 1989.  World number three Luke Donald (who closed with 69) headed a group tying for fourth (four strokes off the pace) and was joined there by Justin Leonard, who held a share of the lead well into the final nine...............Buoyed by a superb third round 62, Thomas Aiken became the sixth South African to claim victory on the 2013 European Tour, cruising home to a three-shot triumph at the Avantha Masters, played at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort outside of New Delhi.  Aiken was chased home by homestanding star Gaganjeet Bhullar (who took second with a Sunday 64) and China’s Wen-Chong Liang, who carded a hole-in-one at the seventh en route to a closing 69, and solo third.  Bhullar actually opened with two birdies and an eagle over Sunday’s first five holes, and later logged three more birdies on the back before a 72nd hole bogey ended his chances.  For the 29-year-old Aiken, the victory represented a second title on the European Tour (following a 2011 Spanish Open triumph), where he has played fairly regularly after logging seven early career wins on his native Sunshine circuit.  Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat closed with 69 to take solo fourth while 22-year-old Korean Seuk-Hyun Baek carded a final-round 66 to finish fifth.  Also notable was the performance of Thailand’s Chinnarat Phadungsil, who carded an 11-under-par 61 on Thursday (tying an E Tour record by taking a five-shot first round lead) before disappointing rounds of 74-72-70 saw him home tied for 23rd...............Forty-seven-year-old Prayad Marksaeng became only the third native to win the Thailand Open, stringing together rounds of 68, 67, 65 and 64 to edge Australian Scott Strange by two in the tournament’s first playing as a co-sanctioned event on the Japan and OneAsia Tours.  Amidst low scoring at the Thana City Golf & Sports Club in Bangkok, Marksaeng became the first home winner since Boonchu Ruangkit in 2004 and celebrated by jumping into a lake adjacent o the 18th green.  The win was Marksaeng’s fourth on the Japan Tour (to go with six official Asia Tour triumphs) and comes at a time in his career when his form otherwise might be expected to be on the wane.  Strange, who closed in 67, kept the heat on Marksaeng through 71 holes before a bogey t the last left him two shots back.  His fellow Aussie Nick Cullen (who closed with 65) took solo third while a group of six players headed by defending champion Chris Wood shared fourth...............Having won the Dimension Data Pro-Am a month ago to the day, South African Jaco Van Zyl triumphed for the second time on the 2013 Sunshine Tour, closing with a 69 over the Country Club Johannesburg’s Woodmead course to edge tour rookie Dylan Frittelli by one at the Telkom PGA Championship.  Also a winner here in 2009, the 34-year-old Van Zyl shared the third round lead with Chris Swanepoel and fell behind early, trailing by four at the turn.  But Van Zyl carded three birdies over the final seven holes before ultimately pulling ahead when Swanepoel swooned with four bogeys over the final five.  The victory was the 12th on his home circuit for Van Zyl, the 2000 South African Amateur champion, and returned him to the top 100 of the OWR, where he previously peaked at 76th in March of 2012.  Tou veteran Jean Hugo claimed solo fourth (on 271) with Ulrich Van Der Berg finishing alone in fifth, on stroke further back.

PGA Tour - Tampa Bay Championship  -  Kevin Streelman  (274)
European Tour - Avantha Masters  -  Thomas Aiken  (265)
Japan Tour - Thailand Open  -  Prayad Marksaeng  (264)
Asian Tour - See European Tour (Above)
Sunshine Tour - Telkom PGA Championship  -  Jaco Van Zyl  (268)
OneAsia Tour - See Japan Tour (Above)
LatinoAmerica - 55th Abierto Mexicano de Golf  -  Ted Purdy  (281)
LPGA Tour - RR Donnelly LPGA Founders Cup  -  Stacy Lewis  (265)
JLPGA Tour - PRGR Ladies Cup  -  Mi-Jeong Jeon  (207)
Champions Tour - Toshiba Classic  -  David Frost  (194)