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Q: I recently read that Ken Venturi wrote in his new book
about how Arnold Palmer cheated on the 12th hole in the
final round of the 1958 Masters, and how it helped Palmer
win the tournament. Do you think this is true? I'm a long-
time member of "Arnold's Army" and would be crushed to
find out he bent the rules. -- Bubba, Yokum, Texas

A: You don't have to resign from the "Army" because Arnold
did not cheat. But it was a confusing situation. To draw
attention to a new book, a publicist often emphasizes the
most controversial element in it. I think that's what going
on here. This story has been talked about for years in golf
circles. Here's what happened. At the 1958 Masters, Palmer's
ball plugged near the green on the 12th hole. It was Sunday,
and Palmer had a one-shot lead over his playing partner, Ken
Venturi. Palmer asked the rules official for a free drop,
but was denied. After a long and heated discussion, Palmer
played his shot from the embedded lie and made a double bogey.
He then returned to the original spot and played another ball.
He made par with his second try, a swing of two shots (five
with his first ball versus three with his second). He
eventually won the Masters by one shot. The rules give the
player the option of playing a second ball if there is a
dispute, but the rule has changed a bit since 1958. In today's
rules a player who plays a second ball must announce his
intention and name which ball he wants to count ahead of time.
In 1958, the rule said that if the player fails to announce
in advance his selection, the second ball will automatically
count if it is played within the rules. So the three Arnold
made with his second ball was his score on the hole.

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