Posted: 26 Jan 2011 10:01 AM PST

RIFFA, Bahrain (AP)—Ian Poulter thinks the rules of golf need to be re-examined in order to avoid the kind of high-profile disqualifications the sport has seen in recent weeks.

Poulter has been one of the more outspoken critics of the game's rulebook after Padraig Harrington and Camilo Villegas were both disqualified from events this month because of violations that were noticed by TV viewers.

"If you look at a number of the scenarios and situations that we've had in the last 12 months, I think a lot of rules certainly need to be re-looked at for sure," Poulter said Wednesday ahead of the Volvo Golf Champions in Bahrain. "I think there's no common sense involved with a number of the rules, so that needs to be addressed."

Harrington was in second place after the first round of last week's Abu Dhabi Golf Championships but was disqualified before he could tee off on Friday after a TV viewer pointed out that he didn't replace his ball correctly when it moved after he picked up his marker.

Earlier this month, Villegas was disqualified from the Tournament of Champions after he had swatted away loose pieces of grass while his attempted chip up a slope rolled back toward him—removing objects that could have influenced the movement of the ball.

Both players were disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard, because their violations should have resulted in a penalty.

Poulter said that's one rule that is outdated, since there no longer is much of a need for an official scorecard handed in by the players.

"I think the way the game of golf has gone in the last few years, the signature on the scorecard really doesn't make that much of a difference to be honest," Poulter said. "Every shot is visible for everybody to see on television, we have walking scorers, and there are the stats people. Therefore, it's not like you can cheat your score. Therefore, leave the door open if someone has made a mistake. … If they get a two-shot penalty, they are still in the tournament. The tournament still benefits from having some of the world's best players in the field."

Poulter himself was given a one-stroke penalty during a two-way playoff at the Dubai World Championship in November after he dropped the ball on his coin marker on the green, effectively giving the victory to Robert Karlsson of Sweden. In that case, the Englishman called over the referee to notify him of the violation right away.

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Golf-Noh hopes to dodge draft to continue rankings rise

Posted: 26 Jan 2011 02:01 AM PST

By Bernie McGuire

RIFFA, Bahrain, Jan 26 (Reuters) - South Korean prospect Noh Seung-yul is concerned his climb up the world golf rankings will be stalled by a period of compulsory national service in the Korean army.

Twelve months ago, the 20-year-old Noh was ranked a lowly 242nd in the world but since he won the co-sanctioned Malaysian Open in March 2010, he has continued a rapid rise up to number 64 on the latest list.

Noh's triumph in Malaysia was also pivotal in helping the former Korean Amateur (2005) and Korean Junior champion (2005) to become the youngest-ever Asian Tour number one as well as ending the season 34th on the European Order of Merit.

His victory, at 19, made him the youngest ever winner on the European Tour until 17-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero lowered the mark later in the year at the Castellon Masters but Noh did gain entry into three of the season's four major with the triumph.

However, Noh told Reuters at Riffa in Bahrain, where he is contesting the inaugural Volvo Golf Champions, he had a major concern this coming May of trying to avoid a 20-month period of conscription.

"I turn 21 years in May, but for the time being I can avoid going into the army because I have enrolled at university," he said.

"I will study at university for the next five years and up to the 2016 Olympic Games when golf is an Olympic sport.

"If I am on the Korean Golf Team and we finish top-three in the Olympic Games, then I would only have to do four weeks army service," he added.

"Everybody in Korea has to do national service in the army, so if I don't win either a gold, silver or bronze medal in 2016, then I have to do 20 months service.

"I want to continue living in Korea, so I guess there is no way of avoiding service in the army."

Fellow Korean Y. E. Yang, who captured the 2009 U.S. PGA Championship in defeating Tiger Woods at Hazeltine, undertook two-years compulsory military service when he turned 21 in 1993.

Yang served as a guard at a naval port on Jeju Island where he was born.

Last week, Noh contested the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship in the company of four-times major winner Phil Mickelson, outscoring the world number six to finish in a tie for 18th, well ahead of the American.

"I enjoyed playing alongside Phil Mickelson last week and I have played alongside a lot of major winners now like Michael Campbell, David Toms, Shaun Micheel and Graeme McDowell," Noh added.

"It was great playing alongside all those majors winners but it was very different alongside Phil Mickelson especially on the last day of an event.

"I managed to eagle the last hole so I finished in front of him, but I just enjoyed the round so much."

For the opening two rounds in Bahrain, Noh finds himself in the company of leading Europeans Robert Karlsson and Paul Casey.

(Editing by John O'Brien; To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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Venezuela's Chavez says he is no enemy of golf

Posted: 25 Jan 2011 02:01 PM PST

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)—Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared on Tuesday that he is no enemy of golf despite his concerns about elite golf courses on prime urban real estate in Caracas.

Chavez made the remark while congratulating Venezuelan golfer Jhonattan Vegas on his win in the Bob Hope Classic on Sunday in California.

"I'm not an enemy of golf. I'm not an enemy of any sport," Chavez said in a televised speech.

"What I've done is criticize that there are some rich guys in Caracas who have… golf courses and next to them the 'ranchos' are falling down," he said, referring to the simple brick homes clinging to hillsides that have been destroyed in recent landslides.

Chavez has suggested the land on Caracas golf courses could be better used as his government seeks to speed construction of public housing—a stance that has raised the possibility the courses could eventually be expropriated.

The president said he hoped to speak with Vegas soon by phone to congratulate him personally.

"He beat all the gringos," said Chavez, laughing. "Let's go, buddy."

The 26-year-old golfer, who came from a humble family in which his father was groundskeeper of a small course, became the first Venezuelan to win an event on the PGA Tour.

Chavez noted that Vegas is black, saying "he looks like (President Barack) Obama."

State television cut to segments of Vegas' successful performance, and Chavez joked "that's how I played golf" years ago in the president's hometown of Sabaneta.

Chavez noted that Vegas lives and plays in the United States, saying he represents Venezuela nevertheless "wherever he lives."

"We're going to practice golf here, too," Chavez said.

The leftist leader has previously called golf a pastime of the rich. His socialist government has closed six courses in recent years, all but one of them on land owned by the state oil company—including the course in eastern Venezuela where Vegas learned to play as a boy.

Vegas has said he hopes to give his sport a boost in Venezuela, where baseball has long been the undisputed favorite.

Chavez sought to separate Vegas' performance from the issue of golf courses in Caracas, where his government is trying to cope with a severe shortage of affordable housing.

The president said he opposes that "a group of very rich people" have a spread of golf courses "there in the heart of Caracas."

He said there is "almost no city in the world" that has golf courses within city limits as Caracas does.

However, Mexico City and Buenos Aires have golf course layouts within the city limits. Golf courses are also common features of many city parks in North America.

Golf Zone

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

“Poulter says golf's rules need to be re-examined” plus 2 more

“Poulter says golf's rules need to be re-examined” plus 2 more

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