In most sports, when referees do the job well they go largely unnoticed. They are there to arbitrate the result, not to determine it.
Golf, of course, works a little differently. A rules officer steps in when called.
This is what John Paramor and Andy McFee have been doing, with a distinct style, for the European Tour for more than four decades, with Paramor starting in April 1976 and McFee in September 1983. Each eventually ascended to the status of chief referee. on the circuit.
Their place in the game is significant: European Tour leader Keith Pelley has referred to each of them as a legend, and both have presided over countless important judgments over the years. Good friends, they recently sat down to remember some of their most memorable moments here.
A comparison that stands out: a Seve Ballesteros ruling sought the last hole in the regulation at the 1994 Volvo Masters in Valderrama.
First, let’s set up the scene.
Leading most of the tournament and with spectators eager to see their prodigal son win at home, the Spaniard suddenly found himself tied with Bernhard Langer after failing in the par-5 17th birdie. Then Ballesteros pushed his tee shot to the 18th right and his ball landed behind a tree. Seeking relief from the animal hole behind his ball which he said interfered with his swing, Ballesteros called in a referee.
“Right behind was this huge hole that some animal of some description almost certainly dug there,” Paramor recalled. “It took me a long time and I thought, This is not going to be good for me, because obviously in a tournament in Spain. The vast majority of the spectators are Spanish. They desperately wanted Seve to win. “
And Ballesteros was in desperate need of relief. Under the rules of golf, he would be entitled to a free fall if the hole was caused by a burrowing animal.
Paramor determined it wasn’t because there was no evidence (animal droppings) and at one point he stuck his finger in the hole while examining it. It was then that he felt the Spaniard’s hand on his shoulder and heard him tell him to be careful because whatever caused the hole could bite.
“What a great thing to tell me in that moment of very high pressure,” Paramor said.
But a moment later, with pursed lips, Ballesteros gave Paramor a deathly farewell look. Then he went on to bogey the hole to lose by one.
It was one of many great moments in a career full of them.
“The word I use on John is gravitas,” McFee said. “He has empathy with the players and is honest and fair. When John Paramor talks about the rules of golf, people listen. “
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