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Hello, Chris.
Exactly!
She was penalised twice for the same offence.
That cannot be right.
The officials changed the score 24 hours later, so how on earth did Lexi sign for an incorrect score.
The score was correct when she signed it!
It happened to Dustin Johnson last year.
Time to sort the Rules, methinks!

Good morning, Rusty!
It was extremely foggy when I got up this morning!
But that gradually dispersed whilst I was out walking...and it is glorious now!
No, I hadn't heard anything about the golf!
In fact, I was wondering about the outcome......
Oh dear, poor Lexi!
I cannot understand how this sort of situation with Lexi could arise?
Is there not a golf referee on the course?
Surely any fault on the part of a player should be corrected on site, there and then at the time of play?
I don't know much about golfing rules, but in tennis for instance.......in the days before Hawkeye, a ball would sometimes be miscalled by a linesman.
Viewers at home might pick up on this, as the BBC might replay the action.......but the decision of play could not be altered by a phone call!
And as for adding the extra two stroke penalty...well, that seems harsh indeed.
Yes, I do feel very sorry for Lexi regarding that in particular.
Although the whole thing seems strange to me!
Can I add a bit of cheer here by saying that I heard on the car radio this morning that Roger has beaten Rafa in two straight sets, to win the Miami Open?
That at least is good news, isn't it?

Good morning, Elle!
I have just watched the incident and must confess that I did not spot that she had replaced her ball slightly to the side.
It looked fine to me.
Yes, there are officials on course, but the problem was not spotted by anyone on the course, but by an eagle eyed viewer at home.
The Rules of Golf is the villain here.
This is not the first time this has happened.
What would have happened if this incident had happened in the final round instead of the third round?
Lexi would have already been presented with the trophy, jumped into Poppie's Pond, and been safely home, before it was discovered.
The Rules are wrong!
Good news for Roger, indeed.

Hi, Rusty!
Yes, that is the point I was making.......that the problem was spotted by a viewer and not by a golf official.........
I am amazed that this counted, which is why I tried to draw up a parallel from similar tennis experience.
But I appreciate that, as I know nothing of golf, this may be way off beam and not be an appropriate issue to compare.
But is there not a time lag?
Such as the outlook to an incident cannot be altered outside a certain time frame?
Yes, Well done, Roger!

Hello, Elle!
Golf is the loser here, as well as Lexi.
Idiotic rules, and taking the word of Billy Joe in Idaho, 24 hours later, to decide the first of the womens' Majors?
That happens in no other sport that I know of.
They can not show Lexi what she did wrong.
No TV's on the course.
Has anyone, ever, replaced their ball in exactly the same spot?
Pretty much impossible, I would say.
For me, Lexi is the true winner of the tournament.
And what I did not like was the crowd's reaction to So Yeon Ryu's ball approaching the last.
It flirted with the water and the crowd were willing it in.
Not sporting!
The official who told Lexi, Sue Wittars, said she felt sick to the stomach having to tell Lexi of the penalties.
Come on LPGA, get your act together!
Elle, I think the Rules of Golf is a very thick book, but hopelessly outdated, as we have seen, last year, with Dustin Johnson, and Anna Nordqvist, and now with Lexi Thompson.

A simplified Rule book is due to be introduced next year.

Hi, Rusty!
Uhm...it sounds a "bit of a rum do"!
Most unsatisfactory........
And according to the event as I have read it in the News...it would appear that the ball was only placed about 1 inch to the side from where should have been?
Oh dear!
This brings to mind an incident that occurred with our previous dog - a cross German Shepherd/ Bearded Collie - many years ago now.
We were walking by the golf course in one of our nearby parks, when the dog espied a golf ball flying through the air and coming to lie about six foot from the hole......
With great glee he retrieved it and brought it to us......
Horrified, we sent him back with it ( he could mange to get under the fence...we couldn't.....)
But he put it back only two inches from the drop.... almost on the rim of the hole!
I'm sure that the approaching golfer would have been absolutely delighted........
But we scarpered before our sins - or at least, those of the dog - were found out!

Hello, Elle!
Yes, I have seen a bird pick up a ball on the putting green and move it a few feet away.
Things happen!
It paints the LPGA in a very poor light that they tolerate viewers phoning them to point out errors.
It happened last year with Anna Nordqvist.
Her club accidentally moved several grains of sand in a bunker on her backswing, and only a viewer at home noticed it.
Anna has today Tweeted her support of Lexi.
It is very unsatisfactory.
Lexi is taking a three week break now.
She'll be back.
Lexi is one of the "good guys" in the sport!
I am away for a dander!

Hi, Rusty!
I am just home!
We too have been out for a walk!
It is very warm for early April - apparently 19C!
A big change from this morning's chill and the rather dense early fog.
We found our normal secluded walks inundated with children and picnics!
We shall have to go further afield during the school holidays as the dog is rather drawn to a good picnic!!
Actually, to give her her due, she is very well behaved and would not touch anything - but the picnickers themselves always want to feed her, which I do not allow.
It is easiest to stay away!
How was your dander?
Where did you end up?
I haven't made much progress with today's 15 x 15........
Is it especially difficult? or am I being especially dense?!

Hello, Elle,
Yes, had a nice dander.
Was good to get walking again.
Yes, put your dog's well-being first.
The park folk are being nice, but they do not know what is best, or not, for your dog.
There are whispers from across the pond that the LPGA's Lexi ruling could be successfully challenged in a Court of Law.
It is obvious that it is unfair and bonkers!
The crossword I thought was not one that appealed to me.
1d, baffles me, I have an answer but cannot see a definition?
And I have not a Scooby about who poor Tom is in 11a, but I am sure I have the answer.
Same with 23d, Who the flip is Alice?
Not a very satisfying crossword, or I am a bit thick!