Tiger penalized after trying to move fence

PGA rules structure immovable, costing Woods 2 strokes

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updated 6:47 p.m. ET May 8, 2005

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Tiger Woods again got help from the gallery when he found something obstructing his swing Sunday. This time, it cost him two strokes.

After pushing his drive way right on the par-5 10th, Woods had a fence near his ball, and he tried to move it out of his way. The fans joined in and broke the fence, which was deemed an immovable structure earlier in the week by the PGA Tour.

“There was a fence down there that was temporary, but it was immovable,” PGA Tour tournament director Mark Russell said. “We had been giving relief out of it all week, and he went to push on it to see if he could move it, and the crowd evidently damaged it. It’s a two-stroke penalty. You can’t do that.”

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It was reminiscent of a scene in Phoenix six years ago, when one of his tee shots landed in front of a boulder in a natural area. A rules official quickly decided the obstacle fell in the category of a loose impediment which wasn’t “solidly embedded” and therefore could be moved, so about a dozen men from the gallery rolled the 1,000-pound rock out of the way.

This time, the result was a two-shot penalty for Woods, leaving him with a 1-under 71 in the final round and dropping him out of the top 10. He was informed of the ruling after he finished, and he stormed past reporters without answering questions.

“He wasn’t very happy,” Russell said. “Tiger is a competitor, and I totally understood he wouldn’t be happy. It’s not a pleasant situation, but we have to play golf under the rules.”

This was Woods’ first tournament since winning his fourth Masters. Following the previous three, he finished no worse than tie for third in his next start, but the penalty dropped him into a tie for 11th.