Lucy Li Reprimanded, Remains An Amateur

Sneak Peek: This story will appear in the Feb. 18 edition of Global Golf Post.
It took far longer than most who followed the matter thought it should. Painfully longer according to critics on both sides. During that time, rumors ran rampant. But the USGA – after thoroughly examining the evidence, speaking with all parties involved and gathering as much information as it could – chose not to rescind Lucy Li’s amateur status, giving the 16-year-old Californian the best Valentine’s Day gift anyone could want.

At noon on Thursday, the USGA Amateur Status Committee held a vote to make it official. While everyone agreed that Li violated the Rules of Amateur Status by appearing in an advertisement for Apple, according to Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior managing director of governance, who spoke to GGP on the matter, the Amateur Status committee voted “to issue a warning as opposed to forfeiture of amateur status.”

The background is simple: Sometime last year, Li starred in the production of an ad for the Apple Watch as part of the co...