Legal? Not legal? The winner of the French Open borders on the rule with his putting gesture

It went a little unnoticed, as the surprise caused by his victory was great, but the winner of the FedEx French Open, Dan Bradbury, used a long putter all week at Golf National. And the least we can say is that the Englishman’s technique is at the limit of what is authorized by the regulations…

G.B.

Cheating? The word is certainly too strong. The integrity of Dan Bradburythe winner of FedEx Open de Franceis not called into question here. What may have bothered the eyes of certain observers and the author of these lines is that the rule which concerns the famous “anchor point” has, it seems, been flouted by the player on several occasions. .

What does rule 10.1b “Anchor the club” say?

When playing a shot, the player must not anchor the club:
• Either directly, by holding the club, or a hand holding the club, against any part of the body (except that the player may hold the club, or a hand holding the club, against a hand or forearm),
• Either indirectly, by using an “anchor point”, by keeping a forearm in contact with any part of the body to use a hand holding the club as a stable point around which the other hand can make swing the club.

Anchored or posed, that is the question

However, if we look very closely, it appears that Bradbury’s left hand and his putter are glued to his chest when he makes his putting movement. His gesture obviously recalls that of a certain Bernhard Langerlegend of golf and in particular of Champions Tourwhere it is common knowledge that the authorities are less careful about this famous rule of the anchoring of the club, even if Langer or even Scott McCarron were heckled by observers on this subject.

Dan Bradbury uses the Ping PLD Custom Oslo XLa model he put in his bag only a few weeks ago (two months ago he wasn’t yet using a long putter). So he surprised everyone a little when he found himself at the front of the stage in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines with his new machine. Some Internet users were also moved by his putting grip. Supporting video, they considered that the gesture of the 25-year-old English champion was illegal.

The whole question is whether Bradbury’s putter is only touching his polo shirt or whether it is “anchored,” that is, stuck, against his polo shirt. The text of the rule does not prevent the putter from touching the clothing. We can therefore give Bradbury the benefit of the doubt. But we can also be doubtful, because this young player has had a lot of putting problems in the past and has been able to make yips disappear. With a third anchor point? Only he can say that.

The rule perhaps deserves to be made more readable, but this subject lasts, lasts, as much as the incredible longevity of Bernhard Langer…

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