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Els could be forced to abandon belly putter

ESPN staff
July 23, 2012
Adam Scott used a long putter at The Open © PA Photos
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The sight of long and belly putters at majors could become a thing of the past by 2016, after the chief executive of the Royal and Ancient Club, Peter Dawson, confirmed a ban is being discussed.

Ernie Els and Adam Scott used unconventional putters en route to finishing first and second respectively at The Open over the weekend, while Keegan Bradley scooped the US PGA Championship last year after taking the elongated stick on the greens.

"This decision has not been taken, but I think we are going to say something in a few months rather than years," Dawson said. "There are further discussions to be had, but if the rule is changed it would come into effect on January 1, 2016.

"I'm not sure if it's true, but this may be the first one [major] where we have had the winner and runner-up with long putters. Let me say that the Open Championship result does not have a direct bearing on the discussions about long and belly putters.

"They were going on well before what has happened. The situation is that the R&A and the USGA do have this subject firmly back on the radar. We appreciate that there is much speculation about this and that we need to clarify the position as soon as possible.

"The initial determination has been that we are examining the subject from a method of stroke standpoint rather than length of putter standpoint."

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