Monday, June 15, 2015

Original ABC footage of TC Chen double hit in 1985 US Open

Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most infamous shots in golf history, the double hit by TC Chen during the 1985 US Open. The relatively unknown Chen held a 4-stroke lead playing the 5th hole of the final round, but his disastrous chip shot contributed to a quadruple bogey 8, dropping him into a tie for the lead. Chen would finish tied for 2nd just one stroke back.

Here is the original ABC telecast of that shot. Peter Alliss was on the call with additional commentary from USGA executive Frank Hannigan who ABC used for rules questions.



One surprising aspect from this footage is that Alliss continues to harp on whether Chen may have hit the ball three times instead of two, implying that such a distinction would have been relevant. But Rule 14-4 calls for a single penalty stroke whenever the club hits the ball more than once during a stroke. You would think that Alliss, a former golf pro, would have a better grasp of the rules.

If you listen carefully, at the 10:10 mark on the clip, you can hear a producer tell Alliss to ask Hannigan about whose decision the penalty would be. You can hear other such instructions at the 10:55 and 11:32 marks.

During this segment, ABC showed only two replays of the Chen shot, both from the original camera angle. Obviously, a similar incident on a modern tournament would result in several replays from multiple angles.

The entire Sunday round is on the same YouTube channel in 15 segments. Other ABC announcers on this event included Jim McKay, Dave Marr, Jack Whitaker, Bob Rosburg, Ed Sneed, and Judy Rankin.

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