The PGA Tour Took Their Sweet-Ass Time To Rule On Cameron Smith's 2-Stroke Penalty And Cam Bettors Must Be FURIOUS

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I'm not a conspiracy theorist, or at least I've really quieted that part of my brain since college. I've submitted to a life of willful ignorance about the most nefarious intentions of the shape-shifting humanoid reptilians who truly wield all global power.

Having said that, I can't help but think rumored LIV Golf defector Cameron Smith got the shit end of the stick here and a subtle middle finger from the PGA Tour prior to Sunday's final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Smith would've began his final 18 holes just one shot off the 54-hole lead. Instead, it was decided at the 11th hour to assess him a trivial two-stroke penalty.

Here's what basically went down:

"Prior to the start of the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Cameron Smith was assessed a two-stroke penalty for a breach of Rule 14.7 (playing the ball from the wrong place) on hole No. 4 during the third round as he was operating under Rule 17.1 (when the ball is in penalty area). Smith’s score has been adjusted and he will begin the final round at 201 (-9). Final-round pairings will not be adjusted."

Prime Example 30,456 of the Stupid Fucking Rules Of Golf in full effect here. I wish there was an overriding Common Sense Clause in the USGA rulebook. When you have a chief referee talking about "the geometry of the whole situation" you're either stretching to overexplain something, are caught in a lie, need to reassess the way you judge basically anything on earth, or all of the above to be honest.

"The geometry of the whole situation." Hahahahaha. Yeah I'm sure that makes the folks who bet on Smith feel SO MUCH better. From the player's perspective, this sucks as well. Starting two shots off the pace as opposed to four can really change your strategy and course management tactics. 

To the Aussie's credit, he basically called the penalty on himself after the fact. There's also still a chance the second-ranked golfer on the planet and reigning Open champion can make a mild final-round charge to win for the fourth time in 2022. Doesn't detract from the possibility that the PGA might be kicking Smith's ass a bit on the way out the door.

It'll be hilarious when Smith still wins the crown in the FedEx Cup playoffs, gets that delicious $10 million bonus and then bolts for LIV. I'm done even trying to express any reservations about LIV converters, because apparently the cool, trendy, and not at all problematic take for such players is, "GOOD FOR HIM!"

Twitter @MattFitz_gerald