The Knucklehead of the Day Award

Today's winner is Tiger Woods. After missing a short putt on his 18th and last hole yesterday, the golfer damaged the green at Pinehurst #2's 9th hole by dragging his putter along it for two feet.

Shame on you Tiger for thinking of no one but yourself and not your fellow professionals who still had to play that hole.

The full story can be found at yahoo news- http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050618/ap_on_sp_go_ne/glf_us_open_woods_1

PINEHURST, N.C. - Tiger Woods dragged his putter and marked up the ninth green in a show of disgust. When he missed his short birdie putt on the last hole, he stepped off the green and shouted an obscenity.

For a guy who spent the week preaching patience, Woods had a hard time Friday keeping his.
Woods drew a mild rebuke from the USGA for damaging the green on the ninth hole and some disapproving stares from the crowd around the 18th green for cursing. When the day ended, though, his party line hadn't changed.

"You can't have highs and lows," Woods said. "Yeah, I get frustrated out there and excited out there, but you try to keep everything down, keep it as level as you possibly can."

Woods remained in contention for his third U.S. Open title and his second major of the year, overcoming his anger with a good finish for a 1-over 71 that left him right where he began the day — three shots off the pace.

The round was more plodding than spectacular but it certainly had its moments, beginning on the second tee when Woods had his caddie, Steve Williams, take scissors to his shirt because it felt too tight when he finished his swing.

That was interesting to all watching, but what happened on the ninth green wasn't so entertaining to Open officials.

Woods had putted from the front edge of the green on the par-3 and ran it past some 12 feet. He missed the putt coming back and, as he walked toward the cup, he pushed down on his putter and dragged it heavily on the green in frustration.

The putter clearly marked up a line on the green several feet long, and Woods sheepishly tried to pat it down after tapping in his putt for bogey.

"I wasn't exactly very happy with myself," Woods said.

Woods didn't attempt to apologize for the incident, and he wasn't penalized for it despite the USGA saying his actions "may be understood as a breach of etiquette."

In a statement, the organization said that since it was a one-time occurrence, it did not qualify as a "serious breach" that would require a penalty. The USGA also said a rule prohibiting scraping the putting surface for testing purposes wasn't broken because Woods had just a tap-in left and wasn't trying to test the green.

Woods tried to cast the incident in a humorous light.

"I just roughed up the green and went back and mowed it back down again," he said.