My heart goes out to Peter Whiteford after what happened to him last week at the Avantha Masters. To those not in the know, the Scotsman was disqualified on the final day of the tournament when just one shot behind the leader. Replays of his third shot on the 18th hole showed that his ball rolled a fraction before he hit his shot.

Whiteford felt there could have been a movement and he did ask his caddie, a fellow player and even one of the TV cameramen. Each one of them felt it did not and the only mistake Peter made was not to ask for a review before signing his card. Apparently, the ball had moved and it was evident in the high definition telecast. A couple of the so-called armchair vigilantes called in and the Tour was forced to take action. Because he had already signed his card for the round, Peter was disqualified.

This trial by television is getting to ridiculous levels and we have seen several high-profile casualties in the last couple of years. Of course, rules are rules and I am a firm believer that the rules in our sport are sacrosanct, but really the punishment meted out to Peter was just too harsh.

There has to be a clause in the rules of golf that penalty (one shot in this case) can be added to a players' card in posterity. Especially in cases like this, where Peter was not trying to gain any advantage from one roll of the ball this side or that. South African Jbe Kruger made full use of Peter's misfortune and won India's only European Tour event by three shots. You'd better look out for this guy. He is not hugely built, but Kruger has an amazing all-round game and he is getting better and better.

Kruger has been plying his trade on the Asian Tour for some time now and this was his maiden win on both Asian as well as the European Tour. This is just going to elevate his status manifold and give a major boost to his confidence. I was still reeling with the after-effects of the flu that I caught in Dubai and it wasn't a very happy experience out there. That was disappointing as I expected a lot from this tournament. It just means that I will have to work a lot harder over the next two weeks as I take a break.

The WGC-Match Play starts this week in Arizona, with world No 1 Luke Donald defending his crown. The match play can be a matter of luck but I won't put it beyond the solid Donald to repeat his success. Although it is a pity that the red-hot Phil Mickelson has decided to skip the tournament.

 

Jeev Milkha Singh is a three-time winner on the European Tour.