PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

After a number of recent fiascos, you would think that rules officials in pro golf tournaments would have learned lessons.

But, no. There was another fiasco last weekend, one that many would say looks worse than its predecessors.

In this case, professional golfer Lexi Thompson was 12 holes into her final round of the ANA Inspiration Golf Tournament at Mission Hills in the California desert. She was four strokes ahead and looking like she would prevail in the first LPGA women’s major tournament of the year.

Then, from a golf perspective, the almost unthinkable happened.

Rules officials approached her on the course and said she would be assessed a four-stroke penalty. Someone watching on television called into say Thompson had marked her ball improperly on the green in the third round. She was two-third of her way through her fourth round.

• Never mind that, if a violation, it did not appear to be intentional and involved only a 12-inch putt.

• Never mind that her score had already been posted for the third round and she was two-thirds of the way through her fourth and final round.

• Never mind that a TV viewer had called in day late.

• Never mind that Thompson is one of the best American golfers and was in the lead, so she was on camera much of the time, in contrast to, say, someone who was not in the lead and, therefore, had escaped TV coverage.

It will be contended that the rules officials did what they had to do, which is to impose a penalty – two strokes for improperly marking the ball and two more strokes for posting an incorrect score from the third round. [By the way, a recent rules changes averted another incredible fiasco, which is that, by posting an incorrect score, Thompson would have disqualified immediately.  This time, it was “just” a four stroke penalty.]  What the rules officials should have done was say, no, it’s too late. The round is already in and, if there was a violation, it was so small and apparently unintentional as to be of no consequence.

To Thompson’s credit, despite the emotional toll of losing four strokes to push her out of the lead, she rebounded by posting two birdies and tying for the lead at the end of the fourth round. Then, unfortunately for me and many other golf fans, she lost to a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.

When asked about the altercation in his press conference at the Masters tournament which is under way this week, pro golfer Phil Mickelson got it right.  He said it was a stupid decision, that it should be reversed, and that Thompson should be given the trophy.

That won’t happen, but what will happen is that a proposal to “modernize” golf rules will include the fact that TV viewers cannot call in to become de facto rules officials.

About time.

Imagine if viewer calls were allowed for professional football, baseball, basketball or soccer. No one would ever win!

Golf has done itself another disservice by this episode. If the leaders of the industry are trying “to grow the game,” then they should make the rules change – no TV viewers as rules officials – immediately.