The governing bodies of world golf announced on Tuesday a vast change of rules in the use of video after the fury sparked by the downgrading of Lexi Thompson, depriving her of an almost certain victory in early April at the Ana Inspiration, the first tournament of the Grand female slam.

Lexi Thompson-The Evian Champioship Photo © TPlassais / swing-feminin.com

"Limits" are to be set in the use of the video announced the American Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal and Ancient (R&A), which rule world golf. It will only be used for the search for evidence undetectable to the naked eye and priority will be given to the golfer's reasonable judgment when placing his ball. "As long as the player does what is expected of him, given the circumstances, to determine with precision, the player's judgment will be accepted, even if it is later discovered that it was inaccurate through video evidence."the R&A and USGA said in a joint statement.

In the 2017 Ana Inspiration, Lexi Thompson received a four stroke penalty with six more holes to play. A viewer sent an email to the event organizers to let them know that she had committed a rule violation during the 3rd round. The American, in the lead since the second round, had moved a few inches from where she had putt on the green of hole N.2. "Golf has always been a game of integrity and we want to make sure that the emphasis remains as much as possible on the reasonable judgment of the players rather than on what video technology can show," added Martin Slumber, president of R&A.

(AFP)