Tiger Woods was hit with a two-stroke penalty but not disqualified for a rules violation. Getty Images

Golf loves rules. Loves them! Sure, there's the appeal of the good walk spoiled, the verdant scenery, the exquisite way canned beer tastes when delivered via cart. But it's a sport of rules, of Don'ts and Don'ts, and more Don'ts—written and unwritten, on the course and off. Don't ground your club in a hazard. Don't sign an incorrect scorecard. Don't wear a Van Halen T-shirt to the country club, and for the love of Sam Snead, don't quote "Caddyshack" in somebody's downswing. Golf is a game of integrity, of self-policing, of overblown seriousness about etiquette and honor. And khakis. There are soooo many khakis.

Golf is also a business. And the business of golf did a very businesslike thing on Saturday morning when it permitted Tiger Woods to continue in the 2013 Masters despite what appeared to be a disqualifiable rules violation. Woods got the benefit of the doubt—in letting him play on with a two-stroke penalty, tournament officials determined Woods had not knowingly violated a rule Friday when he took a penalty drop further away than is allowed.

Tiger could stay. The world's most important golfer was allowed to remain in the world's most self-important golf tournament.

Predictably, there was a lot of sturm und drang about this. A rules dispute—in any sport—is controversy heaven. A rules dispute involving Tiger Woods? Christmas in April.

WSJ Sports Reporter Matthew Futterman on Tiger Woods deciding to continue playing in the Masters. Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images.

Photos: Masters Day 3

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

On the Golf Channel, analyst Brandel Chamblee said the decision would be "the most controversial thing that follows [Woods] around for the rest of his career," a comment that could only have been made if one spent the tawdry tabloid year after Thanksgiving 2009 living on a deserted atoll. Three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo described the decision as "dreadful" and called upon Woods to "do the manly thing"—oof, Sir Nick—and disqualify himself. Other golf heavies stepped forward and demanded Woods fall on his 7-iron.

LOL. If one thing could be gleaned from the ruthless, tunnel-visioned, Nike-hubris career of Eldrick Tiger Woods, surrender was not an option. Woods, the favorite heading into Augusta, decided to stick around through the weekend, now 1-under-par, and five shots off the lead as play began. He released a statement via Twitter saying he did not know he broke the rule, and that he "respected" the tournament's decision to penalize him two strokes.

In other words: Sorry, suckers. What Tiger were you expecting?

This dispute offers something for everyone: the rules sticklers, who are outraged Woods isn't DQed; the moralists, who believe Woods should quit for the good of the game; the forgiving, who believe Woods took no intentional advantage; and the realists, who see little point to removing the most famous player from the game. It even had a weirdly folksy angle: Augusta's rules committee said it reviewed Woods's mistake after being notified by a TV viewer, who hopefully was eating microwave chili and spotted the error while flipping over to "Judge Judy."

If you aren't wearing a green blazer, the histrionics are mostly amusing, as are the sirens howling from an event that prides itself on intense institutional control. The Masters traditionally takes rules to extremes: at Augusta you may be escorted to the gate if caught with a cellphone (that's with a phone, not talking on one). Tournament officials were ridiculed Friday for assessing a one-stroke slow play penalty upon a 14-year-old phenom from China, Guan Tianlang, on a day in which multiple groups slogged through the course for five hour rounds. There's something awfully rich about anyone at Augusta National—a club that admitted its first female members in 2012—being penalized for not moving fast enough.

Now it's up to Woods to write the last chapter, and it could be a hilariously uncomfortable one. He's standing in a bigger deficit than he was on Friday night, looking up at a field that includes the age-defying 53-year-old Fred Couples. Woods has a lot of ground to make up, but what a wild scene it will be if he maneuvers his way into contention on Sunday. Will it be a just victory? Will it deserve an asterisk? A marquee tournament has gotten a little messy, a little modern, a little gray. This is not necessarily good for golf, but it's entertaining. Insulated by design, the Masters now feels more like the rest of life.