Spectator saves Webb from two shot penalty
Karrie Webb. Getty Images |
A spectator had the courage to speak out today during the first round of the Women’s Australian Open and it saved Karrie Webb from a two-shot penalty.
Karrie Webb was seconds away from putting her ball on the 13th at Royal Melbourne, when a spectator spoke up and told her to stop. He reminded her that she had not replaced her ball correctly after moving her marker out of the line of Yani Tseng’s putt moments earlier.
“I just blanked,” she said, explaining that Tseng had asked her to move her marker and she moved it back in the wrong spot. “I don’t even remember moving it the other way but I guess I did,” she said.
“There were about 15 people standing on the other side of the hole and I was just about to pull the trigger and he spoke up. It really caught me off guard. In the end he saved me a two-shot penalty… It was pretty courageous of him.”
It’s a nice twist on the regular stories of spectators and TV viewers telling officials of player indiscretions, often resulting in penalties or disqualification. Spectators have a heart after all.
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Which is the way the sport should be played.
As the guy who Tweeted in the infraction on Camillo last year, I can only say I was trying to “protect the field.” Seriously, I never dreamed my tweet would lead to his DQ. Good for the spectator to speak up and save Webb the two shots. Good luck to the players who made the cut at Royal Melbourne… quite a feat on its own, considering how tough the course is playing.