Below the Zeigler video is the following comment from a man who was standing on the tee box>
johndim11 2 hours ago
I was on the 14th when Tiger hit this tee shot. I was standing almost directly behind him about 3 people deep. The shot he hit was a very bad hook. I saw the video footage and the camera angles are horrible. The shot started out going towards the right side of the fairway and hooked sharply and landed about 7-10 left of the water line. The drop Tiger took was about 25 yards behind where the ball entered the water. I'm not a Tiger fan, so I am not making excuses for him, the drop was legal.
I wasn't there, so I can only comment on what I think" I see.
1. Aerial camera angles distort ball flight images, A LOT.
2. I like Mark Rolfing, but commentators quite often talk to fill the air and don't always have the best vision of what is happening. Many times you hear them say the ball is pushed, or going right or left, than it lands in the middle.
Other aerial camera shots showed shots that were ripped straight down the middle that looked like they were over the water immediately. In the end, the decision stands and Tiger is always going to cause controversy because of who he is. That's just a fact of life.
The rules clearly state that if you are in doubt, ask your playing partner/opponent, and drop where he tells you to drop. That is what Tiger did. Even if Casey Wittenberg was wrong, by deferring to him Tiger covered himself.
One problem I have with Zeigler’s explanation is he did not indicate where the hazard “starts” using the camera angles. The rule says “crosses the hazard” not “begins to fly over the area that eventually becomes a lateral hazard”.
Being a lateral hazard and visibly marked, where, in relation to he flight of the ball, does the hazard start? That can reasonably be deemed the “crossing point”.