Read the debate intro and Sports Geek’s argument that the USGA was justified in their decision.
(editor’s note: Bleacher Fan is on vacation. Sort of.)
Greetings from the deck of the S.S. Badger! If you ever get a chance, take a ride across Lake Michigan on one of the famous “carferries” – you will not be disappointed!
However, after a trying journey to my vacation destination I’m a little tired and crabby. So, I feel like I’m in just the right mood to tell the USGA what I think about their decision to revoke Dusty Schmidt’s amateur status. IT STINKS!
Schmidt, who had recently returned to the game of golf after recuperating from a heart-attack five years earlier, decided to issue a “Million Dollar Challenge.” You see, Schmidt was also a professional poker player, and he saw an opportunity to combine the things he enjoyed – golf, poker, and competing for money – and offered $1M to any person who could beat him both at 72 holes of golf AND several hands of heads-up poker.
Well, nobody took him up on his offer, so the challenge went dormant, or so Schmidt thought. Apparently, the USGA felt that his challenge, which never materialized and is therefore nothing more than idle conversation, was “in violation of the spirit of the game.”
So the question I have for the USGA is… “What about his actions was so wrong?”
Was it that he made a public offer looking for competition in a proposition game? I’ve got news for the USGA – that’s what a Skins competition is. When two people play the same hole, and the person with the best score wins prize money, THAT’S proposition golfing. So it’s okay for a professional to play a proposition game when the prizes are funded by sponsors, but an amateur is not allowed to put up his OWN money in a proposition game? That doesn’t seem fair to me!
Was it the fact that Schmidt brought the “seedy” element of gambling into this fine, upstanding gentleman’s game, besmirching the good image of this noblest of sports? Before I hear an answer to that question, let me be clear on something – John Daly, a PROFESSIONAL golfer, can publicly admit to drinking, gambling, and drug addictions. He can be charged with domestic violence, can physically assault fans of the sport – DURING PLAY, no less – and be charged with public intoxication… and he only receives a six month suspension from the PGA. But, an amateur who does nothing more than offer a prize to anyone who can beat him at both golf AND poker is acting inappropriately and should have his status revoked?! Where’s the consistency?!
I understand that the USGA and the PGA are two different organizations, but they represent the same game, and so fans will naturally associate the two as a single body. If the interest of the USGA is to protect the image of the game of golf, they are going about it the wrong way. Especially when you consider the fact that friendly wagers in private golf games happen every day!
Instead, the USGA should partner with the PGA to identify what type of behavior is REALLY unbecoming of a golfer – such as committing a crime – and let the guys who just want to have some fun playing the game they love have their fun.
Posted by Bleacher Fan 
