During the final round of last week's Fed Ex St Jude Classic at the TPC at Southwind in Memphis, viewers were treated with a classic example of how the PGA Tour and their Rules Committee deals with a possible Rules infraction.

During the 4th round telecast on CBS TV, it appeared that the ball of Tom Pernice may have moved when the ball was addressed on the 14th green. While calls were taken at the PGA Tour office on site, the CBS television crew informed the Rules Committee that Pernice’s ball may have changed position after being addressed.

Whenever a Rules infraction is reported it is the responsibility of the Rules Committee to investigate the situation and apply any penalties, so to preserve the status of the competition at any given time.

In this situation, by the time PGA Tour Tournament Director Arvin Ginn was able to review all angles and camera shots of the incident, Pernice was playing the 16th hole. Pernice was told of a possible infraction after play of the 16th hole, but stated he was unaware of his ball moving on the 14th green. CBS slow motion cameras clearly showed the ball rocking forward then back as the ball was addressed, but there was no clear evidence of the ball moving after address in Rule 18. Given all information and the testimony of Pernice, the player was not penalized.

Had a penalty been applied on Pernice with only two holes left in the tournament, it could have affected how several players played their 71st and 72nd holes, with a lot of money up for grabs.

It is always best to maintain the status of the competition for all competitors at all times!