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ADT CHAMPIONSHIP

November 22, 2008

Doug Brecht

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA

Q. Can you please introduce yourself, first?
DOUG BRECHT: My name is Doug Brecht. I'm the Vice President, Rules and Officials of the LPGA.

Q. What happened?
DOUG BRECHT: On hole 18, Helen Alfredsson hit her second shot into the water. (She) Determined the point where the ball last crossed, measured two club lengths and dropped the ball. Dropping it twice, both times having it go back into the hazard, she attempted to place it. When she attempted to place it, the ball would not stay at rest, so she, therefore, then called for a ruling.
Jane Reynolds, the official, came down and got her to place the ball where the ball would stay at rest.
Helen then attempted to play her next shot, and the next shot was not hit far enough, was in the process of coming back towards her.
When she saw this happening, Helen went to Jane and said, 'Jane, can I stop this ball before it goes into the hazard?'
Jane made a motion nodding her head like this. Helen took that to mean yes, you can do that.

Q. Stop the ball before it went?
DOUG BRECHT: Stop the ball before it went into the water. Jane was unaware that there was ... okay. After all that happened, Helen proceeded to play out the hole, wrote '7' down, and went to the (scoring) tent.
We heard from TV that a player had stopped her ball with her club after she played a shot before it went in the hazard. That's a violation of Rule 1-2. A player exerting influence on the ball while it's moving after a stroke.
At that point in time we told Jane to go to Helen in the tent and explain to her what happened. At that point in time, Helen said, 'No, you told me it was okay. You nodded when I asked you the question.'
Jane never heard Helen ask her the question. Jane did make a motion like this (nod head). Both Helen saw it and Helen's caddie in a separate conversation that I had with him saw it. Both of them were under the interpretation, because of that, Jane had said it was all right for her to do that.
Okay, so because of that, under Rule 34-3, we deem this to be a committee error, and no additional penalty was given to Helen under Rule 1-2 for that violation.

Q. She'd already signed her card, too, right?
DOUG BRECHT: She hadn't left the tent though. Doesn't matter if she signed her card, she had not left the tent.

Q. When did she ask Jane?
DOUG BRECHT: She asked Jane while the ball was in motion.

Q. We're getting sketchy information. She stopped it with her hand after it rolled across the hazard line, it was clearly still moving. Grabbed it?
DOUG BRECHT: Granted --

Q. Looked up and got whatever message she got. Did she look up for some sort of validation after she had stopped the ball? Did she look up like that, right? She might have gotten the validation while the camera was on the ball. Camera's on the ball, ball went up, it's still on the ball, and the ball started to roll down, so during that time she could potentially have said, 'Can I catch this,' or 'Can I stop it?' She (Jane) never said anything verbal? They took the nod as 'OK'?
DOUG BRECHT: Correct. I got the same story, you guys from all three of them independently. It's not like I was saying Helen, 'Tell me the story. You guys listen to see if it's right.'

Q. Jane knew the rule?
DOUG BRECHT: Jane knows the rules. Jane never heard Helen say anything. Helen interpreted this (head nod) as meaning yes.

Q. You said a minute ago it didn't matter whether she signed the card as long as she's still in the tent?
DOUG BRECHT: As long as she doesn't leave the tent area, she's fine. It doesn't matter.

Q. Is she disqualified either way?
DOUG BRECHT: The worst that's going to happen is she's going to get two shots and record the score as a '9.'

Q. Right.

End of FastScripts

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