When I read this article...I was convinced that this reporter must be a Korean living in the U.S. or someone who has sympathies for Korea, i.e., anti-Japanese ideology.
I woke up earlier than scheduled and watched the live coverage of the U.S. Women's LPGA ShopRite LPGA Classic, but Hataoka didn't appear.
I wondered, "Oh, did she abstain due to illness?"
I went back to sleep when Shibuno made a brilliant eagle, holing a shot from the fairway in one bounce to get to 6-under.
I opened my P.C. and found the following unbelievable news about Hataoka.
When I read this article, I was convinced by the offer of a reporter from a US TV station who was present at the search scene... This reporter must be a Korean living in the U.S. or a person with Korean sympathies, i.e., anti-Japanese ideology.
This is even more so since a Korean golfer topped the leaderboard at 10-under on the first day of the three-day tournament.
It is well-known that Hataoka is a strong golfer with a good chance of winning the tournament.
At the same time, the United States is a country that is willing to do things that anyone would find ridiculous, as the Hiroshima-Nagasaki incident symbolizes.
The most recent example is the unbelievable prosecution of Trump by the Democrats...symbolized by the recent prosecution by the New York State Attorney General, a Democrat supporter, and the conviction in the District Court by a jury, almost all of whom were Democrat supporters.
No man, no country, no system is 100% perfect.
Nevertheless, a little too much evil goes a long way.
U.S. Women's LPGA Classic by Acer◇ ShopRite LPGA Classic by Acer, Day 2 (8th)◇Seaview Bay Course, New Jersey◇ 6190yd (Par 71)◇
Nasa Hataoka was disqualified before the start of the second round for violating the rules the day before.
On the final 9 (par 5) of the first round, it was discovered that she had exceeded the three-minute time limit allowed for a search before finding the ball that had been hit into the bushes.
The tour, after receiving a report that morning from an official at the scene, verified the incident on video and found a violation of playing from the wrong spot (Rule 14.7b of the Rules of Golf).
The day before, Hataoka had placed her second shot at the same hole into a bush on the right side of the green and searched for her ball with her fellow competitors and caddie.
The Rules of Golf (18.2a) set the search time at 3 minutes, but the competition committee members did not actually measure it.
After finding the ball in the grass, Hataoka holed out with a 4 on 1 putt for par after an unplayable.
She finished with a "65" and was in fourth place at 6-under for the first round.
However, on the morning of the day, the tournament was asked by a reporter from a U.S. television station who was present at the scene of the search to verify the footage.
It was revealed that the search had taken 3 minutes and 25 seconds.
*This 25 seconds! is also appalling. *
Initially, the ball was considered lost and had to be hit as the fourth shot from the second shot spot with one penalty stroke added.
She was disqualified because she did not correct that error before submitting her score.
On the morning before the second round, Hataoka was warming up on the course when she was informed of her disqualification by the tour and was stunned.
She said, "I would have understood if my fellow competitors had told me, but.... I'm not convinced if an outsider told me and this happens the next day. I didn't expect this to happen," she said, accepting the ruling with a hint of regret.
The search time, set at three minutes, is not measured by a third party present.
The competition committee member at the scene just before the fourth shot was hit from the greenside was unaware that the players were searching for the ball.
Since she was explaining the treatment of the unplayable, which Hataoka inquired about, there was no mention of the time limit on the spot, and play proceeded as it was.
In 2017, the Rules of Golf added a new article (20.2c) that states, "If the naked eye cannot reasonably see the facts on the video, the video evidence shall not be adopted even if it indicates a violation of the rules. It was a countermeasure to the fact that television viewers, etc., discovered violations and were later disqualified or penalized with additional strokes.
Sue Witter, the competition committee chairperson for this year's tournament, said, "Seven years ago, what changed with this rule is that we no longer accept phone calls (from viewers). But (this time) the call was made by a reliable source who was on the course for the tournament," she explained.
If the play from the wrong spot had been discovered before holing out, she could have started the second round with a score (67 for 4-under) with two penalty shots (general penalty) added.
If the call had been made before the scorecard was submitted...I can't say I regret it.
(Galloway, NJ / Yoichi Katsuragawa)
2024/6/7 in Nagoya
