PINEHURST, NC - If there's one thing tougher than the wiry brush in the waste areas at Pinehurst, it's the state troopers assigned to keep the peace in the gallery. Aside from a few drunken get-in-the-hole louts, there's not a whole lot of bad behavior in a golf gallery; this isn't the cheap seats at a Raiders game, after all. So when justice drops here, it drops hard and fast.

On the 11th hole Saturday afternoon, Tommy Lineberry, a local resident and the driver for NBC Sports' Roger Maltbie, apparently accidentally hit a state trooper in the leg (or ran over his foot, there is some discrepancy). The officer then shouted for Lineberry to stop.

Lineberry didn't stop. This turned out to be a very bad thing for Mr. Lineberry.

According to Golfweek, the police officer caught up to the cart, leaped onto it, and then grabbed Lineberry's neck and shoulders from behind. According to the AP, Lineberry tried to protest that he was getting the cart in place for Maltbie, but the officer responded, right in Lineberry's face, "When a state trooper tells you to stop, THAT'S what you're supposed to do."

Lineberry was handcuffed and taken into custody but released shortly thereafter, according to the AP. There has been no word yet on charges.

____

Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter.



Follow @jaybusbee