Byrd wins season's first event in a Hawaiin Sudden Death Playoff

Beautiful Kapalua Hawaii was the site of Jonathan Byrd's win on Sunday in a playoff with Robert Garrigus. He finished at -24.

After Byrd's hole in one in Vegas got him to Maui, he certainly didn't think he was going to card back to back wins. Garrigus well....not so happy. He failed to sink a 12 footer on the final hole of regulation for an eagle. Byrd also could have won on the final hole in regulation but also missed his birdie putt. After Byrd narrowly missed his 50 foot putt in the first playoff hole, he narrowed it to a 10 footer on the second and got his "byrd" and the WIN.

Graeme looked stellar on Sunday and shot a round of -11 to get him down the the final hole for a chance of heading into the Playoff against Byrd & Garrigus, but missed his 10 foot birdie attempt on #18 .Stricker who was looking strong and tied with both Byrd and Garrigus starting the final round on Sunday, just couldn't hang on and finished in a tie for 4th with Carl Pettersson at -4. 3rd Place went to Graeme at -23. Nonetheless, it was a great tournament to start the season off!

Additional drama came with the DQ of Camillo Villegas after an in inquiry set in motion uproar that could be heard around the globe. One man, Dave Andrews is feeling the backlash as he should. He is not a golf pro, but a self proclaimed "golf-nut". He plays more than 100 rounds a year. He spent 30 yrs as a television reporter & has written a golf novel. He was watching the opening round with friends and saw "Camillo flick away some loose pieces of grass as his ball was rolling back down a slope towards his divot on #15". What happened next, is crazy! He said to his friends that he thought that was "wrong". His friends then went onto the USGA's website and found the rule. Rule 23-1 to be exact; "when a ball is in motion, a loose impediment that might influence the movement of the ball must not be removed".

While the PGA Tour states viewers calling in "apparent rules violation is nothing new", they still check things out stated Jon Brendle, Rules Official. This inquiry came through Social Media giant Twitter. He tweeted to the PGA Tour, it's website producer, and The Golf Channel. Now, tell me he was not on a mission! He then contacted another Blogger, Ryan Ballengee who had apparently not seen the questionable violation. Once he watched this, he reportedly agreed and then sent an email to the PGA Tour media official at Kapalua.

At any rate, I think that WE as fans need to respect the game and the Tour Players. They play by known rules. At times, as in the case of Dustin Johnson's debacle last season; there will be innocent mistakes made. When we the fans try to become Officials and overstep those lines, then I have a problem. I don't think it is the place of any fan whether in person or via telecast, to make a violation call. Players play on their honor and knowledge of the rules. This violation in no way could have affected ANY fans. It could have affected a score, Camillo's. If none of the field felt this was an error, then it should have been left to the course officials. The lesson here is that innocent errors or judgements can occur in ANY profession. Officiating however, needs to be left to the Officials on hand and the other competitors to question ONLY!

Perhaps the scorecard rules should be changed. This could allow both the Player affected and the Officials to review the potential violation and be informed of penalty strokes to be given prior to signing of scorecards. To wait and have a player sign a card and then be broadsided when they did not think an action was a violation or better yet even know of any discussion of such, well.......... that is just plain wrong in my opinion. Please note I said "My Opinion". I don't post blog articles to start debates, they are simply my account of a sport I love. I watch and play all the GOLF possible and I can say that I would NEVER try to become an official from a viewer perspective! And, I agree with Ian Poulter who tweeted that "armchair officials" should not be officiating. This is the professional's sport, and if Andrews wanted to officiate, then I guess he wasted 30 yrs in television reporting; because he should have become a certified official instead!

Now, Go Hit Some Balls.........................