Pristine image threatened by rancour and division

Anchored putters, dodgy drops and armchair referees. Drugs. Top players behaving like kids in the schoolyard.

It’s not a great time to be a paid official running one of the world’s great golf organisations.

Whether you are the R&A, the USGA, the PGA Tour or the Chairman of Augusta National, it has been a month for spin doctoring and rhetorical obfuscation when it comes to the major issues troubling a game that’s prided itself on its whiter than white image.