What concerned golf’s top officials is that players no longer were using an anchored stroke out of desperation to improve their putting, but as a way to putt better.
“There’s no argument that it’s a better way to putt because then everybody would be using it,” Pettersson said. “If it was easy, everybody on the PGA Tour would be using it. So I don’t know where they got that from. It’s just a different way of putting.”
The PGA Tour can set its own rules, and there has been speculation that when the rule passes, the tour would adopt it before 2016 to avoid the long putters getting too much attention over the next few years.
Bradley said a fan called him a cheater at the World Challenge, which prompted a statement from the USGA that reminded fans the putting stroke remains legal.
A spokesman said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem would not comment until a players’ meeting in two weeks at Torrey Pines. Pettersson won’t be at the meeting because he does not plan to play the Farmers Insurance Open.
“There’s so much speculation. I just wish people would say what’s going on,” Bradley said. “From what I’ve heard, the rule is not going in for three years. I haven’t heard what the tour is going to do. I know it’s a touchy subjection. I would prefer for it to go three years so we aren’t rushed into it. I think that would be the fair way to do it.”
Pettersson said he was surprised not to have heard from Finchem, and that his hope was that golf officials weren’t talking only to those opposed to long putters. He did say, however, that USGA executive director Mike Davis tried to call him a few weeks ago.
“I didn’t know it was him, so it went right to my voicemail,” Pettersson said.
Did he call him back?
“No,” Pettersson said. “I just didn’t want to talk about it. And there’s nothing I could do.”
Davis said he has tried to call a number of players who use long putters before and after the announcement of the proposed rule.
“I’ve just reached out and said, `If you want to talk about it, I’m happy to, but don’t feel you need to call back,’” Davis said. “We realize there are two sides _ many sides _ to this issue and we just wanted to reach out. It’s not so much to try to convince them of our point of view, it was more listening to theirs.”
Davis said with two months remaining in the comment period, “It has gotten extremely quiet.”
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