1958 MASTERS Venturi said he did not call Palmer cheater in his book

Ken Venturi contends Arnold Palmer committed an infraction of the rules.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- Ken Venturi still believes Arnold Palmer did not follow the rules when he won the 1958 Masters, but he took issue Sunday with headlines that portrayed him accusing Palmer of cheating.
"I never, ever used that word," Venturi said from his home in California. "There's nothing like that in my book. It's caused me a tremendous amount of embarrassment."
Venturi contends Palmer did not understand the rules when he played a second ball from an imbedded lie in the final round of the '58 Masters.
"It was an infraction of the rules -- we've all been guilty of that," Venturi said. "A cheater is someone who knows the rule and purposely breaks it. I never said that [about Palmer]."
Book
Venturi's book, "Getting Up & amp; Down: My 60 Years in Golf," created a controversy last month as Palmer prepared to play his 50th and final Masters.
Palmer trailed Venturi by one shot in the '58 Masters when he sought relief from an imbedded ball behind the par-3 12th green. The rules official, Arthur Lacey of the British PGA, denied Palmer a free drop.
Palmer disagreed and played two balls, making a double bogey with the first one and a par with the second one.
Tournament officials told Palmer three holes later that he was entitled to relief, and that the par would count on his scorecard. Palmer went on to win by one shot over Doug Ford and Fred Hawkins.
Each player's version
Venturi said the debate comes down to each player's version of the second ball.
Venturi says in his book that Palmer only declared he was playing a second ball after making double bogey. Palmer has written in two books -- "A Golfer's Life" and "Playing by the Rules" -- that he announced he was playing two balls before playing either of them.
Whatever the case, the rules still back Palmer.
Tom Meeks, senior director of rules and competition for the U.S. Golf Association, said Sunday that the 1958 rule (11-5) for playing two balls stipulated that if a player failed to announce his intentions ahead of time, the score he made with the second ball would count as his score.
The gist of it
That was the heart of Venturi's argument.
"What if he had chipped in for birdie? He wouldn't play a second ball, would he?" Venturi said.
He said players were supposed to play the balls simultaneously; otherwise, they would get an idea of the speed and break of the green from playing the first ball to a conclusion.
Meeks, however, said the rules did not require that.
Venturi said he has not called Palmer since the book was published March 17, and doesn't feel as if he needs to.
"Going back to what my father always told me, when you're right, you don't have to explain anything to anybody," Venturi said. "I don't have to justify my position to Arnold. It's the newspapers' place to say, 'Ken Venturi did not say that.' "