Monty says he played by the rules<\/p>\n
Brian Creighton, Newport, Wales<\/p>\n
Colin Montgomerie defended himself on Wednesday against
\ncharges he broke the rules more than two months ago in the
\nIndonesian Open.<\/p>\n
When play was suspended by lightning at the tournament in
\nMarch, Montgomerie was about to play a shot from the rough with
\nhis feet inside a greenside bunker.<\/p>\n
He did not mark his ball - there is no obligation to do so -
\nbut when he replaced the ball the next morning it was not in the
\ncorrect position. He acknowledged this later after seeing a
\nreplay of the incident.<\/p>\n
Montgomerie later donated his 24,000-pound (US$38,000)
\nwinnings to the Tsunami Appeal fund.<\/p>\n
\"There was no admission of guilt in making a gesture of that
\nkind,\" Montgomerie said Wednesday, on the eve of the Wales Open.
\n\"That was a gesture on my behalf because I wasn't happy with what
\nI saw. That was my personal gesture and no admission of guilt.\"<\/p>\n
Montgomerie also said he did not have the option of forfeiting
\nranking points. European Tour tournament committee chairman Jamie
\nSpence agreed there was no mechanism in place for forfeiting
\nranking points.<\/p>\n
\"I had no option in returning my world ranking points, or
\nOrder-of-Merit money,\" Montgomerie said.<\/p>\n
Montgomerie tied for fourth in the event. Without the result
\nin Indonesia, Montgomerie would not have qualified to play in the
\nU.S. Open later this month in Pinehurst, North Carolina.<\/p>\n
Montgomerie said he was not penalized for the infraction at
\nthe time because the referee, Jose Maria Zamora, did not regard
\nthe Scot's mistake as serious enough to warrant a penalty.<\/p>\n
The European Tour's chief referee, John Paramor, said
\nWednesday that if he had been in charge Montgomerie would have
\nbeen penalized two strokes.<\/p>\n
But he acknowledged it was a judgment call whether the
\ndistance Montgomerie had replaced his ball away from the correct
\nspot warranted a penalty.<\/p>\n
Officials of the European PGA Tour have tried to close the
\nmatter. But over the weekend, English golfer Gary Evans said 98
\npercent of players were concerned about the ruling, and that
\n\"there has been smoke around Monty before.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/monty-says-he-played-by-the-rules-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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