Sergio Garcia retained his place at the top of the leaderboard in the Greg Norman Holden International in Sydney, but the 21 year old Spaniard was far from happy after finishing his third round at The Lakes Golf Club, having been penalised two shots after taking an incorrect drop on the first hole.
Garcia’s third round 68 should have given him a two stroke lead over the field but John Paramor, the European Tour’s chief referee, informed the Ryder Cup player before he signed his card that it had been changed to a 70.
It left a clearly angry Garcia tied at the head of affairs with Australian teenager Aaron Baddeley on 16 under par 203 going into Sunday’s final round, both players one shot clear of England’s Ian Poulter, who charged through the field with a 65, and two ahead of Greg Norman himself.
The main talking point of the entire day came moments after the final pairing of Garcia and Norman had teed off. The Spaniard’s drive finished against a pine cone and close to a tree, but more importantly behind a sponsor's sign.
Garcia proceeded to take relief away from the sign with Norman watching. The double Open champion thought there was nothing wrong when his playing partner hit his second shot to the green before carding, what appeared to be, a regulation par four at the 363 yard hole.
However a spectator suspected Garcia had not gone far enough away from the sign and raised the matter with an official. John Paramor stopped the players in the middle of the second fairway and explained the situation to them, Norman illustrating what had occurred by sketching a diagram on Paramor’s draw sheet.
The European Tour official pointed out to the players that the drop had to be outside one club's length of the nearest point of relief. Paramor told the players he would study television footage and talk to them both at the end of the round. He proceeded to do that with the news Garcia did not want to hear.
"Of course I'm angry," said Garcia. "I was two ahead and now suddenly I'm tied for the lead. In the rules it doesn't say what he was telling me, but there is a local rule and I'm lucky I wasn't disqualified."
That would have happened if he had been judged to have gained a significant advantage with his wrong drop, but Paramor was happy that he had not.
"I really don't want to talk too much about it," added Garcia, dripping wet from the rain which arrived for the last six holes. "You can probably ask 500 players and they will tell you it shouldn't be done that way. Of course Greg apologised to me - he is a gentleman and he didn't think it was that way either."
Tournament host Norman did not quite have the happy day he would have wished for on his 46th birthday. "You can read the rule in a couple of different fashions according to the interpretation from John Paramor,” he said after carding his own disappointing 71. "I do believe that 90% of players who have taken relief without an official (in such a situation) have all violated the rule.
"The rules of golf are very complex, but when you are in doubt you should get an official and I did ask Sergio whether he wanted one. I feel bad personally because he asked me for the ruling and I went through the procedure I thought was correct. Thank God he wasn't disqualified.
"The onus goes on the player. We should know our rules - we are professional - and at the end of the day it is the individual's responsibility."
Paramor stated: "I have not found a player yet who is happy to get a two-shot penalty. There's never been one who said 'thank you very much.’ I know there are a number of players who don't know that rule. Sergio was three feet from being safe."
Apart from the first hole, Garcia was flawless on the course and by the rulebook, the following 17 holes featuring five birdies and no dropped shots. Norman looked on course to match his playing partner’s error-free effort until bogeys at the 14th and 16th dropped him back to fourth.
There were no such dramas for joint leader Baddeley, who stunned the world of golf in 1999 when he won the Australian Open title as an amateur before retaining the title the following year as a professional. The 19 year old was in fine form as he cruised to a bogey free 68, his birdies coming at the second, eighth, 11th, 15th and 17th.
“I was solid and I was very patient,” he said. “You had to have patience out there today. The wind was blowing and then then rain started. I was patient all the way through. I tried to hit good, smart shots.
“I had hoped to play in the last group tomorrow. It’s a great position to be in. I like playing in the last group, being out there with a chance to win. I’m really looking forward to playing with Sergio and having a good day.”
While Baddeley round was solid, third placed Poulter’s was spectacular, eight birdies cheered all the way by a group of old school friends holidaying in Australia, each one wearing a tee-shirt emblazoned with the logo, ‘Tiger Who? Poulter’s Barmy Army.’
“I can’t play much better than that,” said the Englishman who won the Italian Open last year on his way to being European Tour Rookie of the Year. As for his fan club, he admitted it might even be bigger for the final round when he will partner Norman. “There are a few others here who didn’t make it today after a good night out,” he explained.
Closest to the leading quartet are the Australian duo of Peter Lonard and Jarrod Moseley, both on 13 under par, Lonard reaching the mark in spectacular fashion by holing-in-one at the 195 yard 18th, a feat which was rewarded with a new £18,000 motor car.
Further down the leaderboard, Justin Rose's revitalised career continued to blossom when he charged through the field to nine under with a seven-under-par 66. Already a runner-up twice this season, the 20-year-old from Hampshire narrowly survived the cut, but climbed from joint 58th to 14th. In relation to par it was his lowest round since he turned professional the day after his fourth-place finish in the 1998 Open at Royal Birkdale.
Third round scores
Third round video highlights
