Rules/Numbers

This edition of Rules Quiz features an excerpt from MAGA official John Thorman’s e-book, Let’s Get It Right.

To Mark Or Not To Mark

Dear John: My chip shot from off the green rolled to about four feet from the hole. While I was walking to my ball, another player hit a great bunker shot to about a foot from the hole and on my line of play. Of course, he still had to rake the bunker. In the interest of saving time, may I mark his ball, or should I wait for him to finish raking the bunker and walk up to mark it himself? - Etiquette

Answer

Dear Etiquette: In this situation, it may take the player a minute or longer to reach his ball. The Rules will help you save time and be courteous. In stroke play, there is no penalty if you mark and lift the player’s ball (Rule 9.6), although asking for permission is a polite gesture

Addendum

Match play is different. As an opponent, you must first get authorization from the player before marking and lifting his ball (9.5b Exception 1). Otherwise, deliberately moving the player’s ball results in a onestroke penalty and the ball must be replaced (Rule 9.5b).

Thanks, John

January/February 2021 By The Numbers

1The number of players who have won both the U.S Amateur and the U.S. Mid-Amateur in the same year. Jay Sigel turned the trick in 1983. At age 39, Sigel won the Amateur at North Shore Country Club on Sept. 4, 1983, and 32 days later he won the Mid-Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club.

The number of players that have carded an ace during competition in the Masters Tournament. The 16th hole has yielded the most holes-in-one, giving up 22. The stingiest of the lot has been No. 4, which has been aced just once, by Jeff Sluman in 1992.

6The number of players in their 40s to win major championships since the turn of the century. They include Vijay Singh 41 (2004 PGA), Darren Clarke 42 (2011 British Open), Ernie Els 42 (2012 British Open), Phil Mickelson 43 (2013 British Open), Henrik Stenson 40 (2016 British Open) and Tiger Woods 43 (2019 Masters).

The final-round score Chris Ferris fired at Meadowbrook to come from 8 shots back to win the 2020 MAGA Amateur. Ferris, a senior at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, started the comeback with a 31 on the front nine, which included four consecutive birdies at holes No. 5 through 8.

The distance in miles from St. Louis to Kokopelli Golf Club, which is where qualifying for the 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship qualifying will be on Aug. 16. Kokopelli is located in Marion, Ill., while the 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur is sheduled for Sept. 10-15 at Erin Hills, which is in Erin, Wisc., 388 miles from St. Louis.