Golf Roundup : Dime Jumps, and Stephenson Pays the Penalty

Australia’s Jan Stephenson was assessed an unusual one-stroke penalty during the opening round of the 40th U.S. Women’s Open at Springfield, N.J., Thursday when a dime she was using as a ball marker moved as she pressed it into the green with her putter.

The incident happened on the 11th hole at the Baltusrol Golf Club and caused Stephenson to bogey the par-five, 540-yard hole. She finished the round with a one-under-par 71, one shot behind the leaders--Nancy Lopez, Janet Anderson and Kathy Baker.

Stephenson, who was playing in a threesome with Patty Sheehan and Jerilyn Britz, had hit her fourth shot from the fringe of the green within four feet on the right side of the cup.

However, the ball was in Sheehan’s line to the cup, and Sheehan asked Stephenson to move the marker a clubhead to give her a clear line.

Stephenson moved the ball, marked it with a dime and used her putter to push it deeper into the green so it would not distract Sheehan, but the dime jumped up slightly when the putter was lifted.

That violated Rule 20-1, Section 6 of the Rules of Golf, which states that an object used to mark the position of the ball shall remain in position until the ball is replaced. It carries a one-stroke penalty to any player who accidentally or purposely violates the code.

J.P. Boatwright of the U.S. Golf Assn. was the official with the threesome, and he double-checked the rule before handing out the penalty, Stephenson said.

“It really flustered me,” she said. “I’m usually very careful about those things. There’s no question, it upset me. I was shaking the rest of the round.”

Lopez, seeking her fourth victory in seven outings, shot a two-under-par 70 to share the first-round lead with Anderson, the 1982 Open winner, and the 24-year-old Baker.

Lopez recorded four birdies and two bogeys as she began her quest for her first U.S. Open title and the 33rd win of her career.

It would be Lopez’s second major victory and would qualify her for the LPGA Hall of Fame once she completed her 10th year on the tour in 1987.

In her last six tournaments, Lopez has won three, finished second twice and third once.

Six other players were tied with Stephenson, one stroke behind the leaders: They are Betsy King, Judy Clark, Kathy McCarthy, Dottie Pepper, Jackie Bertsch and Lori Garbacz.

Lon Hinkle, seeking his first win on the PGA Tour since 1979, shot a seven-under-par 64 to take a two-stroke lead in the first round of the $500,000 Anheuser-Busch tournament at Williamsburg, Va.

“I’ve been through some highs and lows. I haven’t been very high lately, but I’m holding my own,” Hinkle said after posting nine-hole totals of 32 on both sides of the 6,746-yard Kingsmill Golf Club course.

Hinkle is 65th on this year’s money list and has a seventh-place finish in the Tournament Players Championship as his best 1985 outing. Three golfers were tied for second at 66--veteran Jay Haas, and first-year players Mike Hulbert and Steve Pate.

Mike King of Britain and Graham Marsh of Australia tied for the halfway lead in the $265,600 Lawrence Batley international tournament at Sutton Coldfield, England, the last warm-up event before next week’s British Open.

The 35-year-old King, without a victory on the European tour for six years, needed only 27 putts in shooting a four-under-par 68 to tie with Marsh at 140.