Cart rules in question at Senior British Open as 1 is allowed to ride, while 4 others were refused

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — To walk or not to walk, that was the question for five members of the field in this week’s Senior British Open at Carnoustie.

Citing various degrees of physical distress, Tim Herron, John Daly, Vijay Singh, Bernhard Langer and Paul Broadhurst each requested that they be allowed to ride in a cart. Only Herron’s plea was granted. As for the others, all four were told to take a hike around the famous Angus links. Daly ended up withdrawing, citing a “recurring injury.”

In a statement, a Senior British Open committee spokesperson explained the process: “As per the championship’s rules and terms of entry and participation, competitors can request use of motorized transportation on or before the closing date for entries. The championship committee received five applications which were carefully considered before one was granted to Tim Herron.”

Each case is assessed on its own merits. Herron passed muster as the four-time PGA Tour winner has needed a cart to get from first tee to 18th green each time he has teed up over the last four years of his senior career. But for the others, Rule No. 1 proved to be an insurmountable stumbling block. If you have walked during a tournament in the last 12 months then you are automatically deemed fit enough to travel unaided. That criterion even applies to Broadhurst, whose arthritic condition is steadily worsening and who already uses a walking stick between shots on the course.

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Even the normally stoic Langer has been moved to point out the difficulties he is currently experiencing.

“Walking is a problem,” said the two-time Masters champion. “I can make swings and rotate on my leg. But I can't practice as much as I'd like to because of the swelling that occurs every single day. Then later in the day, it just gets really stiff and immobile when the ankle swells up and the foot is hard to move and to walk. Sometimes my swing gets worse as the day goes on. That's not helpful. So I need to be patient with that.”

All of which has inevitably provoked a variety of views. Those affected feel hard done by, especially Broadhurst. The arthritic condition in his right ankle is chronic and will, at some point, require surgery.

Some players are sympathetic. Tournament favorite this week, Padraig Harrington, is one who sides with the faltering four whose pleas for mercy have gone unheeded.

“I don’t think we should have golf carts for all the players in a senior major, but I certainly think the guys who are medically injured are different,” said the Irishman, whose left knee is in need of surgery. “Vijay is a genuine case as he doesn’t walk well. He was struggling to walk out there this morning. Paul is another one and also Bernhard. I’m surprised they aren’t in carts. Look, we are on the Champions Tour. We could just ease off a little bit. I know this is a major, but we are also an exhibition. It’s our last hurrah to wave at the crowd and enjoy it.”

But not all players are of that mind. There are those who take the view that riding in a cart is the equivalent of a competitive advantage.

“It’s tough,” said Broadhurst, who limped his way to a commendable three-under-par 69 that, perversely, did nothing to boost his case for a cart. “It’s severe arthritis. It is bone on bone. It’s an operation and a year out probably and no guarantee that I’ll be able to play to this level. So I’ve made a decision that if I can get through next season, I will probably call it a day. Monday was the first time I’d walked on a golf course in a year.”

Told of the official reason his initial request had been denied, Broadhurst was skeptical and mildly sarcastic. Granted a cart by the Champions Tour through the Americans with Disabilities Act and in turn by the USGA and the PGA, he is clearly perplexed by the reluctance of the European Legends Tour and the R&A to follow suit.

“I think they’ve just made that up, to be perfectly honest,” he said of the 12-month walking regulation. “I’ve not seen that in the rules, but, if that’s the case, then fine. But this is like sticking a knife in when my foot is raised. Walking uphill is difficult. In America, I’m walking backwards up the slopes on tees. It’s not too bad hitting balls; it’s just the walking that is painful. Today there was no chance I could have managed without the [walking] stick.”

No matter though. Rules are rules. And Broadhurst, who whiffed a one-inch putt on Carnoustie’s seventh green en route to his 69, plays by them like everyone else. Golf, for some more than others, is never a walk in the park.