Golf World Monday - February 25, 2013

2.25.2013

there was little shock in commissioner tim finchem announcing pga tour opposition to the proposed usga/r&a anchoring ban yesterday. what did surprise was his choice to pre-empt the wgc-accenture match play championship at a crucial stage of the final match. the terms finchem used to state the tour’s position were more predictable. the commissioner emphasized the usga’s absense of data establishing that anchoring provides a competitive advantage, called the proposed ban “very subjective,” and suggested that a ban would have been more appropriate 30 years ago, when long putters first came on the scene. although the usga has always made the proposed ban strictly about its contention that anchoring is simply not a golf stroke, by going on national television and saying the usga and r&a did not make a fact-based case, finchem became a defender of the many pga tour and champions tour players who anchor, not to mention what he called 20 percent of amateur golfers (a number that seems absurdly high). finchem’s public response will probably open the floodgates to stats, facts and other data. in other words, the already public battle over anchoring is just heating up. —Geoff Shackelford @GeoffShac 01Finchem delivers ‘ban’ response