Q. Can you tell us what Jesper said to you when you looked at the cards?
MARK ROE: I don't think I can speak, to be honest with you. Any spokesman in that position -- it's a mistake. He's not to blame. In all honesty, you are responsible for your own score card, but I'm the only person to blame. It's not his fault.
Q. Can you explain what the procedure would normally be on the first tee, and why you didn't go through it this time?
MARK ROE: I don't know. It's the first time I've ever done it. I've realized other times -- there has been times, it may have happened in 19 years, but you realize the first time you go to mark the scorecard or something. But it slipped us both by. It's really unexplainable.
STEWART McDOUGALL: Could I ask David Pepper to come up and explain the exact rule under which Mark and Jesper were disqualified.
DAVID PEPPER: The rule is, in fact, 6-6D, and if anyone has the decisions book, there is a decision 6-6D/4, which explains exactly similar circumstances to this particular one. Sadly, this is something that has happened from time to time, and I know that it happened with the potential winner of the Argentinian Open a couple of years ago. Both of the players were disqualified, and the person who was going into a playoff therefore won. We do from time to time discuss whether you should -- which card you should give the players on the first tee, but we've always taken the view that you should give the player his card and they should exchange their cards.
Q. Why?
DAVID PEPPER: That has traditionally happened. And if you suddenly start changing a practice, well, then there's twice as much chance of this occurrence happening.
Q. When was the last time you discussed that, changing it?
DAVID PEPPER: I would have thought -- I can't recall precisely, but I know there was a discussion when I was on the rules committee, which would have been two or three years ago.
Q. Do you think that the checker checking the score should have had a checklist to make sure this thing doesn't happen? And will you change your procedure? Because Mark is taking it on the chin, and surely he's not the only one to blame here.
DAVID PEPPER: I'm extremely impressed the way Mark has explained the position to you. We do in the score hut obviously try our utmost to avoid any of these occurrences occurring. And in fact only yesterday we managed to stop another of the players going out of the hut before he had failed to sign his score card on that particular occasion. But what we do have, the players do sit in front of one of scorers who checks their scores before they leave the hut and he does -- we ask them to say, is this your score card? And is this your signature? I've spoken to the person involved and he said that he asked whether it was his signature, but he didn't ask whether it was his score card. And I think this is a situation rather like the Woosnam situation of two years ago, where for many years we asked referees to ask the players on the first tee, have you got more than 14 clubs, and once was greeted with complete surprise and an element of abuse. And talking to the recorders, although it's in their instructions to do so, they've had so many players look at them this week, looking as if they're mad, that I'm afraid that on this occasion he merely asked whether it was his signature.
Q. Very bad luck, and thank you for coming in here. You still deal in golf memorabilia. Have you kept your card or are you going to ask for it? You just created your own?
MARK ROE: No. I will have no interest in keeping this one.
Q. You were just shaking your head as Mr. Pepper was describing what happened. Can you tell us what you don't agree with.
MARK ROE: Well, the only thing I didn't agree with was the scorer never actually said, "Is this your score card? Is this your signature?" No one said that to me. That's fine. That's my responsibility. I disagreed with that. If that's what they were asked to say, that was not said to me. No one ever said, "Is this your score card?" No one.
Q. I wondered, due to the expense and time of having independent scorers, can you think of a single other sport that punishes other players for an honest mistake quite as severe as this?
DAVID PEPPER: Quite Frankly, I couldn't tell you, because I haven't been involved with the rules of any other sport. But golf is a game that everybody plays by the rules and sadly from time to time these sort of things happen. And it is impossible to waive such a situation.
Q. Will you be looking at the process and policies in light of this incident?
DAVID PEPPER: We have for some considerable time been looking at the processes that we have in scoring, because I think of all the championships and majors and tournaments that I've ever been to we have a more detailed scoring -- recording system, a checking system than anybody else. And in fact, you asked how it was found. Well, it was found after he had left, but by the second recorder, who spotted the error when he was checking the score for three rounds and realized it must be wrong.
Q. Mark, can I ask, if you had been asked, "Is this your score card? Is this your signature?" Would it have crossed your mind to actually check if it was your score card or would it be an automatic, "Yes, it is. Yes it's my signature"?
MARK ROE: Possibly. That's not the reason I'm disqualified, because somebody didn't say that to me. I'm ultimately responsible for my score card. There's no one else to blame. No one said that to me. Had they said that to me, I might have glanced and said yes, that's my score card. Because for all intents and purposes, I guess I believed it was. I can't lay any blame on the scorers.
Q. Is this the best day in your golf career and the worst rolled into one?
MARK ROE: It's certainly not the worst. I don't describe this as the worst day. I played great golf today and I thoroughly enjoyed it and had a great day. It's a technical error. It's a mistake. These things happen. But, no, no, this is not comparable to bad days for many people. This is just a mistake. It's sports. It's a game. I'll go home and see my children tonight. Believe me, I'll be a little bit upset, but this is not that important.
Q. And a question for Mr. Pepper. If golf has a problem, is it that sometimes the punishment doesn't fit the crime?
DAVID PEPPER: I think sometimes the punishment might appear too harsh, but one has to sit down and write a set of rules and you have to abide by those rules. And I think all of us might think certain rules are harsh and some of us might think certain rules are slightly lenient. But the rules are there and they have to be abided by.
Q. Is it a good rule when you have a referee who can independently testify that every figure of those two cards were wrong? Shouldn't that come into it?
DAVID PEPPER: The referee --
Q. Who followed the match throughout the 18 holes, can actually testify who scored what?
DAVID PEPPER: We actually call him a walking rules official, and he is there to assist with matters of ruling, and he's not there to deal with counting the player's score. But if it is the player or the lady scorer or the person from television wants to know what the score was at a hole, he's certainly there to say what it is.
Q. The questions, are they asked every week on Tour or does nobody say that to you?
MARK ROE: No. To be honest with you, I don't recall them being asked in the scorers area when we finish European Tour events. And who can say had there been European Tour staff, would they have noticed it. It's an impossible question to ask. You can't apportion any blame. In the end, I am responsible for changing my score card with Jesper. We didn't do that. The individual that's there is only doing his job. It's an honest mistake, and unfortunately it is simply that, a mistake.
Q. Looking back on it, did anything weird happen at the first tee? Do you have some habit you switched or did someone come up?
MARK ROE: To be perfectly honest, I was distracted by Jesper's outfit once again (laughter.) I simply couldn't believe the color of his trousers.
Q. How often is a similar infraction, not necessarily this one, but how often is one caught in the scorers tent before it can create a problem and before the golfers leave?
DAVID PEPPER: I'm afraid that is one -- I can't answer because I'm not in the scorer's hut every week. But I did mention to you that we managed to pick one up yesterday. And possibly if I was able to talk with our chief recorder he could possibly tell me how frequently we do that. It certainly happens from time to time.
Q. Whereabouts on the score card does the player's name actually appear?
DAVID PEPPER: On the top left-hand part of the score card. Exactly where it does in a score card for a club competition.
End of FastScripts....
