Furyk ruling slammed
Thursday, 26 August 2010
World No.2 Phil Mickelson has slammed the expulsion of countryman Jim Furyk from The Barclays PGA event in New Jersey.
The 40-year-old Furyk was disqualified from competing at Thursday's tournament at the Ridgewood Country Club after he slept through his alarm and was late to Wednesday's Pro-Am.
Mickelson said a rule that disqualifies latecomers to the warm-up event for the main tournament was unacceptable.
"There has to be a different penalty. I cannot disagree with it more. I have no idea how the commissioner (Tim Finchem) let this rule go through. It's ridiculous," he said.
Mickelson, who is aiming to upend Tiger Woods for the world No.1 ranking at The Barclays, said the decision to disqualify players for lateness to the warm-up event needed to be consistent.
"The rule itself applies to only half the field."
"So if you're going to have a rule that does not apply to everybody, because everybody doesn't play in the Pro-Am, you cannot have it affect the competition."
Ernie Els, who was scheduled to be Furyk's playing partner for the opening two rounds at The Barclays, said the decision to disqualify the No.3 ranked player in the FedEx Cup points system surprised him.
"Obviously a bit of a shock ... He paid the ultimate penalty being late to the Pro-Am," he said.
The last time the rule was implemented on the PGA Tour was in 2008 when John Daly was disqualified from the Arnold Palmer Invitational after missing his Pro-Am tee time.