Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Waiting too long for a putt to fall can be very costly

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998 | 10:45 a.m.

BRIAN HILDERBRANDis a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. His golf column appears Tuesdays. He can be reached on the Internet at bh@lasvegassun.com

Lee Janzen was disqualified from last weekend's NEC World Series of Golf for being too patient.

Janzen, a two-time winner of the U.S. Open, waited nearly 30 seconds for a birdie putt to drop into the cup on the 17th hole of Thursday's opening round.

Finally, the ball -- which was hanging on the edge of the cup -- fell in as Janzen was preparing to tap it in.

An astute television viewer, watching the broadcast on the USA cable network, called tournament officials and turned Janzen in for a violation of Rule 16-2 of the Rules of Golf.

On Friday, PGA Tour officials disqualified the reigning U.S. Open champ for signing an incorrect scorecard because Janzen had failed to add a penalty stroke for the delay.

The Rules of Golf state that when any part of the ball overhangs the lip of the hole, a player is allowed enough time to reach the hole "without reasonable delay" and an additional 10 seconds to determine whether the ball is at rest.

Tour officials said Janzen told them that he believed the ball still was moving, and players are not permitted to strike a ball that is in motion.

However, Rule 16-2 stipulates that "after 10 seconds, the ball is considered at rest, whether it is or not." PGA Tour rules officials reviewed a video tape of the incident -- complete with stopwatches -- and said that he had waited "at least 20 seconds" for the ball to finally drop after he reached the cup.

Despite the disqualification, Janzen was awarded the last-place money of $18,475. He stood 43rd in the 44-player field after signing for a 78 on Thursday.

* MASTERS FUTURES: The Imperial Palace race and sports book has posted its futures odds on the 1999 Masters. Tiger Woods, the 1997 winner, is the favorite at 5-1 while defending champion Mark O'Meara is listed at 20-1. The IP also has listed odds on players winning a major in 1999 and Woods again is the favorite at 8-5. Las Vegas native Robert Gamez is listed at 75-1 to win a major while John Daly is 10-1. Ernie Els and Jim Furyk are at 3-1 and Phil Mickelson is 4-1.

* SOLHEIM CUP NAMED: The U.S. Solheim Cup Team took shape Sunday evening following play in the State Farm Rail Classic in Springfield, Ill. The 10 members who qualified for the team based on points earned for wins and top-10 finishes over the past two years were: Betsy King, Dottie Pepper, Donna Andrews, Brandie Burton, Tammie Green, Pat Hurst, Juli Inkster, Chris Johnson, Meg Mallon and Kelly Robbins. U.S. team captain Judy Rankin rounded out the team with two captain's picks, Rosie Jones and Sherri Steinhauer. The Solheim Cup, pitting professional players from the U.S. and Europe, will be held Sept. 18-20 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

* AROUND THE GREEN: Former UNLV standout Ted Oh, who left the Rebels golf team following his sophomore season to turn professional, tied for 10th place and earned $4,444 in last weekend's Nike Tour event in Odessa, Texas. ... Tickets are on sale for the season-ending $1 million PageNet LPGA Tour Championship, to be played Nov. 19-22 at the Desert Inn Golf Club. Season badges, good for admission to Wednesday's pro-am and tournament play Thursday through Sunday, are priced at $49 if purchased in advance. Single-round tickets are priced at $15 in advance and a book of 10 tickets, each good for any day, is $115 if purchased in advance. Call 733-GOLF for tickets. ... The field for the $1 million made-for-TV Skins Game will feature defending champion Tom Lehman, two-time Skins Game winner Fred Couples, Masters and British Open champion Mark O'Meara and and two-time British Open champion Greg Norman. Tiger Woods opted not to play in this year's Skins Game due to a scheduling conflict. The 16th Skins Games will be played Nov. 28-29 at Rancho La Quinta Country Club and will be televised by ABC.

* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour is in Wisconsin this week for the Greater Milwaukee Open at Brown Deer Park Golf Club. Scott Hoch is the defending champion of the event, which will be televised Saturday and Sunday by ABC. ... The Senior PGA Tour is in Milton, Fla., for the Emerald Coast Classic at The Moors Golf Club. Isao Aoki won last year's tournament. The Golf Channel will televise Friday through Sunday. ... The LPGA Tour is in Portland, Ore., for the Safeway Golf Championship at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Chris Johnson is the defending champion.