Padraig Harrington was disqualified from the tournament

Padraig Harrington was disqualified from the tournament

Harrington was kicked out of the European Tour competition in Abu Dhabi in January after a television viewer, watching coverage in high definition, phoned in to complain about the movement of a ball as the Irishman removed his ball marker on a green.The player himself knew nothing of the offence; when it came to light, he was disqualified for Choose Good Golf Grip For Nice Control signing for the wrong score as penalty strokes had not been added. With increased and enhanced scrutiny afforded on account of broadcast coverage, the changing face of the game has been officially acknowledged.Now, players cannot be disqualified because of "facts that he didn't know and could not reasonably have discovered prior to returning his scorecard". Rather, applicable stroke penalties will be added to a score retrospectively.Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the R&A, explained: "For some time we have been concerned that, in certain limited circumstances, disproportional disqualification penalties have been required by the rules.At the time of his aberration, Harrington said he was helpless. "In slow motion it's pretty clear the ball has moved three dimples forward and it's come back maybe a dimple and a half," he said. "If I'd called a referee over it would have been pointless because if he'd asked me where my ball was I'd have said it was there. As far as I was concerned it didn't move."