star players have been quietly fuming for months about fan abuse of lax new pga tour
rules for spectator cell phones, and for a host of reasons, the issue came to a head at
the memorial. after experimenting at select events in ’ 11, the pga tour green-lighted
a policy that allows fans to use their phones in designated areas. but as some of the
more photogenic players have learned after repeatedly backing off shots due to camera
noise, too many spectators think they are ansel adams reincarnated. “either guys have
to get used to it, or the tour needs to change its policy,” Jack nicklaus said. actually,
with all due respect to the golden bear, fan behavior improved markedly once marshals
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and security officials began confiscating the phones of blatant abusers. that was a day
too late for bubba watson, who raised the issue after thursday’s round: “ever since
they made that rule that cell phones are allowed, it’s just not fun playing,” he said. more
difficult to understand is what exactly fans think they’ll do with a cell-phone camera
shot from 100 yards away? we’re pretty sure the national archives will not be calling
anytime soon and, at best, most of the blurry shots will end up in digital trash bins. at
worst, there’s the risk of getting your smartphone confiscated and affecting the outcome of a championship. who needs that? —Geoff Shackelford (@GeoffShac)
andy lyons/getty images
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