The man who very nearly became the oldest Major winner in history may have been officially cleared of any wrongdoing, but there are many who believe that what they’ve seen is Perry deliberately improve the lie of the ball in the FBR Open. So what really happened and what’s the lesson in it for all golfers?

First off, let’s remember we’re talking golf here – a sport that prides itself on honesty and integrity and the only one in which competitors are expected to ‘call a penalty on themselves’. Little wonder then that allegations of a tour champion breaking the rules is enough to spread panic among tour officials and spectators alike – after all, if there’s one word more feared in golf than ‘shank’, it has to be ‘cheat’ and it’s a word that’s been flooding online debate in the past few weeks – unfairly we reckon.

The problem is that everyone’s confusing two issues ie: 1. Did he break a rule of golf and 2. If he did, was it on purpose? Irrespective of what the governing bodies are saying (see below), it’s pretty darn clear that Perry infringed Rule 13-2 which covers improving lie, area of intended stance or swing, or line of play which states that a player must not improve or allow to be improved ‘the position or lie of his ball, the area of his intended stance or swing by… pressing a club on the ground… moving, bending or breaking anything growing… creating or eliminating irregularities of surface…’ You’d be hard-pressed (if you excuse the pun) not to see his actions in the video as infringing the rules. So what he should have done was realise he messed up, called a two shot penalty on himself and moved on. He didn’t, no-one phoned in to the PGA hotline to report the incident and the result is a possible slur on a good man’s name. Why? Because there’s absolutely nothing in Perry’s record that suggests for a moment that he would intentionally break the rules - ie cheat – which brings the second issue into play.

The PGA Tour reviewed the video, met with Perry at the Players Championship and ruled that there was no infraction. John Paramor, chief referee of the European PGA Tour rendered his judgment: Not guilty.

"The fact is the player is allowed to put his club behind the ball, otherwise he would never be allowed to address his ball in any circumstance," Paramor told [Lawrence Donnegan of the Guardian]. "As soon as any player puts his club on the grass behind the ball, then the grass will be flattened. The issue is, is there excessive pressing down with the club? Looking at this, I don't think Kenny Perry did use excessive pressure when he put his club behind the ball. It does look bad, it does look like the lie was improved but, as long as there was no intent to do so, and I don't think there was, then it is not a penalty."

Mmm… the Mole’s not sure that Mr Paramour got that right. There’s no mention whatsoever of intent in Rule 13-2. In Perry’s defence, he was very blatant about the fact that he was tamping down the grass behind the ball. The cameras were there and there was no way that he would get away with it, with millions of people watching. A devout Christian and a man widely respected among fellow tour players and officials, Perry was outraged at the allegations of cheating. "Kenny's conscience is absolutely clear," his manager, Alan Bullington, said.

So Perry’s reputation has, thankfully, survived, but the incident has highlighted the vulnerable nature of the game’s integrity. "You might as well congratulate me for not robbing a bank," Bobby Jones famously said after being praised for calling a penalty on himself. And who are we to doubt Kenny Perry’s reputation – after all, there’s more evidence that shows he was simply a chump than a cheat. And therein lies the lesson: know the rules, play by them and remember that just because you don’t do it on purpose doesn’t mean you haven’t broken a rule of golf.

Watch the video and tell the Mole what you think... Is Kenny Perry bending the rules, breaking the rules or just being stupid because, as a professional, he should know better?<>