Ok so Tiger got unlucky, hit the flag, and bounced it back into the water.
He made a drop incorrectly and has gotten penalized two shots.

Prior to last years rules change, he would have been disqualified for incorrectly reporting his score.
In the advent of TV coverage and super slow-mo replays, they changed the rules.
This was put in so if a player inadvertently made an error, such as brushing a blade of grass in a hazard during a backswing, they wouldn't be eliminated from the tournament.
The concept being, that the event was so subtle, that there was no way the player could be aware of the infraction.
I fully support this rule. I've seen some silly DQ's where no tactical advantage was gained. It was just an incidental event.

I contrast that with Tiger at the 15th. He deliberately violated the rules and explicitly acknowledged the act in a press conference.
He may not have been aware of the rule but that does not make it acceptable.
He specifically made a choice to violate the rule and in doing so gained an advantage.
He could shoot the exact same shot as he just made but by stepping back a few feet not have to worry about hitting the flag stick again.
In short, He cheated.
By not disqualifying him, they have now established the precedence that it's OK to try and get away with it.
The greater game of golf is now diminished.

 

I believe that each grouping has a rules official that follows them ( or they have a rules official for each hole) and it is up to that individual to make sure that the rules are followed. If Tiger's drop was so balantly wrong, the rules official OR Tiger's playing partners should have at that time called the shot/drop into question. No one did.
I don't like that a TV viewer can call in to point out a rules violation.

 

actually it was Tiger's interview after the round when he stated "i dropped the ball about two yards back" that caused the issue not a fan call in.

 

My understanding is that was the second violation. The problem with TV coverage calls is that unless you have that same person watching every golfer, than it is implicitly unfair, IMHO.

 

I'm against professional golf. It wastes valuable TV time that could be spent on car shows or reruns of the Rifleman. If the players cheat each other, I think they are just getting what they deserve. I'll bet someone is making money off this whole "controversy".

 

Cynic...!!!

 

What is most puzzling is why he wasn't DQ'd for missing the cut. Much ballyhoo about the 'cut' that allowed the Chinese teenager to play this weekend being 4 over par (10 behind the leader). The 2 stroke penalty put Tiger at +5, which made him 11 behind. Nobody has mentioned this at all.

Even without the penalty putting him over the 'cut', he still should have been DQ'd for the reasons stated above.

I guess they didn't want to mess with those bodies in the gallery that paid those ludicrous $7G prices for tickets.

 

Tiger was never in danger of missing the cut. The cut was after Friday's round.

 

That's the point. The penalty was for the drop on the 15th hole.... ON FRIDAY'S ROUND.

 

What do you mean that by stepping back he didn't have to worry about hitting the flag stick again? You mean that he could no longer see the hole? Wouldn't that put him at a disadvantage?

Now if moving back took away a tree or obstacle that had been in between the hole and Tiger, then I'd say that was not fair. I have yet to hear any reasoning behind his dropping further back.