The PGA Tour made a good first move Tuesday, and it had nothing to do with a takeaway on a swing.
Tour commissioner Tim Finchem announced the suspension of the rule that resulted in Jim Furyk's disqualification last week from The Barclays for being late to his pro-am starting time. This part of the regulation will be suspended for the duration of the 2010 season.
What made Furyk's inadvertent tardiness because his cell phone alarm didn't go off because of a dead battery was the fact he arrived at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., just minutes after his scheduled tee time. His amateur playing partners could have played one hole without him, then enjoyed his company and game for the remaining 17 holes. It wasn't like Jim, ranked No. 3 in the FedEx Cup points standings entering the first playoff event of the year, was blowing off his obligation with some lame excuse.
Now, if a player is late, the situation will be handled as a matter of unbecoming conduct. The player will participate in the rest of the pro-am round and might be required to perform additional sponsor activity. A player who missed his entire pro-am obligation will still be ruled ineligible for the tournament unless he has been excused in accordance with the provisions of the regulations.
Well, that sure makes sense to me and is exactly what should have happened to Furyk.
Finchem has asked the Player Advisory Council and player directors to evaluate the current pro-am regulations to determine if alternative measures can effectively ensure players honor their pro-am obligations without placing them at risk of disqualification. The matter will be discussed at the policy board meeting in November.
Hopefully the board and players will agree on what is being done for the rest of the year. It won't help Furyk, but it's the right thing to do. And Jim should again be commended for his classy behavior. I'm sure he wasn't happy sitting home last week, but now he should receive even greater support after the way he handled the matter. Jim, good luck this weekend at the Deutsche Bank Championship and throughout the playoffs. It would be poetic justice if you won the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus.
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