Harrington disqualified in Abu Dhabi

cheater .

PP refunding all bets!

Ludicrous situation -
-viewer on tv phoning in  !!
-no advantage to player ...no cheating whatsoever involved
-we see in field games   where players openly gain ground from frees and touchline throws many times in a game and there's no fuss about it.

lot of silly rules in golf unfortunately

Just after seeing it there, if thats worth Disqualifying some1 things are bad

The real shame is that if he had called a referree at the time, there wouldn't even have been a penalty.

After the farce at the USPGA last year, this is the latest in a series of ridiculous incidents doing no favours to the game.

Bit of an embarrassment for the R&A after just appointing Paddy as an ambassador.

Although it may seem harsh, there has to be a line and there can be no grey areas with this sort of thing, also hes desperate because he hasn't won anything in ages and will take whatever miniscule advantage he can get, In case ye haven't noticed I've never liked him

Very unfortunate as he was hitting a bit of form, as a golfer if you are in any doubt you must call the shot on yourself! Padraig will know that! He should not of let it come to this!On the plus side his score was a fair refection how he played, so this season should be a lot brighter than the last!

Did not see the incident as I am away foreign at the moment .By the sound of things it again appears to me that it is another example of one of the sillier rules in golf . Time a sensible players committee had a look at some of these rules and updated them to reflect when players are REALLY trying to gain advantage via rule interpretation.

Anyone ever see the Faldo incident at Wentworth ? vs Graham Marsh ? I did , absolutely a blot on golf's escutcheon , and I guarantee you Padraig and/or Darren ( remember his action to enforce "fair play " ) would have handled the situation differently . Being matchplay , the hole should have been called a half in the circumstances , a spectator having obviously thrown a ball back some 20/30 yards ( at least ) on to the green , and the players had the option of declaring a half , but it had to be offered rather than asked for .  I know I would have offered my opponent a half had it been me , automatically in the circumstances , but maybe that's just me ...

Only good thing is that Padraig's d/q is early in the season , and it wasn't a major or anything .  Hopefully it might spur him on a bit , needs a few goodish results to get him back on the gravy train .

neill d......Why dont you like him?
In the sixties Arkle was known as himself in racing but in golf Christy OConnor was known also as himself i thought he was the best golfer i had ever seen but in 2008 i had to admit that Harrington was a better all round golfer.I am surprised at neill d suggesting Harrington was taking an advantage,such a comment is unworthy of you,i hope it was tongue in cheek.As for SamuelMorse i would say you are in a minority of one.

Here is a link to what happened Kelly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9Bh-ZVAz48

I think its absolutely ridiculous as he gained no advantage there, the person who rang in to complain about it must av laid him [smiley:crazy]

Unfortunately Sammy isnt in a minority of one,what about Wonky and Rocky ?,the other 2 stooges.Golf is not a sport really so therefore it shouldnt be taken too seriously.Its a game,the same as darts,any middle aged man can play it and when that happens it cant qualify as a sport.Its a good game nonetheless and enjoyable to watch but the rules are shameful in it.They take the ethiquet bit a bit too far,somebody should tell them that its not just snobs partake anymore,every kind of clown plays golf nowadays,even Wonky has a set of clubs.

Thanks BJG , might have a look tomorrow provided the internet facility here holds up .  And it is 1.30 am here in Bali .  Cheers !

I was only taking the piss wildman, hes grand, I've seen him play a few times though and he is artic lining up a put thats all.

Best putter we have ever produced unlike poor Christy OConnor who was the best ever tee to green.

it was sloppy by him imo

I remember backing Harrington about 12 years ago and he was leading by 4-5 shots going into the last round in a tournament when he was disqualified overnight. Cant remember if he had too many clubs or failed to sign his card.

he pays little or no tax to our government, the charity work he does is not even half of the taxes he should pay, so this doesnt surprise me.

Think it was juxtaposed scores  , Paddletoe , and it was noticed when the card was posted as a new course record in the clubhouse . No advantage scorewise , just petty recording infraction  , think it was Cambo's fault as his playing partner .   

I think the resposibility for scorecard recording should belong to an official accompanying the players rather than the players ( and playing companions ) . Padraig has suffered more than most with "technical" issues over the years .  Trust he will forget this quickly , although there would be a temptation to "bury the tour " with incessant referee interventions at the behest of the players . The players can sort this sort of thing out , incessant delays for rulings all over the course for a tournament or two and the officials would soon get pi**ed off with the scenario .

It is the high profile players who suffer most from viewers etc , goes with the position unfortunately . Infamously one relatively unimportant pro admitted some time ago that he never put a marker down , and just replaced his ball "approximately " where it had been --but human nature being what it is , bet you he never lost anything in the act ! Got away with it for years apparently , no-one "ratted"on him .

Overall golf suffers from incidents like this , the general publics view would be "so what , whats a millimetre on a 400 yard hole " , especially when they are used to other sports endemic cheating ( ever seen a free in Gaelic taken from behind the actual infringement where the kicker has any leeway ?). In soccer and rugby I suspect the players are taught where they can bend/ break the rules  . Rugby has sorted high profile games , soccer continually buries its head in sand as we all know Henry style .

I have just watched the incident and would respectfully suggest SamuelMorse,Giant Strides,Irish guy 13 and Newmanix do the same.