Argentina’s Roberto De Vicenzo was all set to battle Bob Goalby in an 18-hole playoff at the 1968 Masters when he got the news that he’d signed an incorrect score card. What’s worse, De Vicenzo, who’d won the Open Championship the year before, was celebrating his 45th birthday that Sunday at Augusta.
As noted USGA Rules Official Dr. Robin Farran explains in this week’s Diary of a USGA Rules Official, score card incidents like this simply keep happening. Dr. Farran teaches Advanced Rules at the Golf Academy and is widely regarded as one of the country’s top USGA Rules Officials. He knows of what he speaks.
Recent Score Card Incident
Player X played in a 54-hole tournament; a 36-hole “double shotgun with continuous play” on Day 1 followed by 18 holes on Day 2. Player X’s group started on hole #16 on Day 1.
During the evening of Day 1, after completing both rounds on the first day, Player X discovered that he had 15 clubs in his golf bag when he started his first round.
How does the Committee rule when Player X reports to the Committee on the morning of Day 2?
**Relevant facts – Player X was not aware until after Round 1 and Round 2 that he had breached Rule 4-4a and Player X discovered the breach before the close of competition. Therefore, the Exception to Rule 6-6d applies.
For Round 1 and Round 2, the scores for hole #16 and hole #17 are amended to include a two-stroke penalty for a breach of Rule 4-4a and a two-stroke penalty for a breach of Rule 6-6d, 8 penalty strokes total added for Round 1 and for round 2.
A total of 8 penalty strokes are added for Round 1 and 8 penalty strokes are added for Round 2.
[See Rule 4-4a and the penalty statement under Rule 4-4a and the Exception to Rule 6-6d.]