The Sony Open Was DQ Country

There were three disqualifications at the Sony Open last weekend, all three for signing incorrect scorecards. The cases of Stephen Ames and rookie Tom Johnson were typical; they simply signed a scorecard on which the score for one hole had been incorrectly noted. DQ following the round.

Matthew Goggin's incorrect scorecard, however, was caused by his not knowing a rule. It was also unusual in that the infraction occurred on Thursday, but Goggin wasn't DQ'd until Sunday. So let's review what happened to him.

On the fifth hole of the first round, Goggin's approach to the green was a little short, and the ball came to rest on top of a sprinkler head. Entitled to free relief, Goggin took his drop.

On the drop, his ball rolled onto the green - but it was not closer to the hole than its original position on the sprinkler head, so Goggin assumed the ball to be in play. What he should have done is re-dropped, because Rule 20-2 says that when dropping from off the green, you can't play your next shot from on the green.

Had Goggin redropped and his ball again rolled onto the green, he would have been able to place it at the spot where it hit the ground on the drop. And if Goggin had realized his mistake prior to signing his scorecard, he could have assessed himself a 2-stroke penalty and avoided disqualification. But he didn't, and therefore signed an incorrect scorecard. DQ.

So why did it take until after he completed his tournament for the DQ to become known? His playing partner in Round 1, Glenn Day, witnessed the bad drop, but didn't start thinking about it until a couple days later. He told Goggin before the fourth round he though Goggin had broken the rules, and Goggin consulted with a rules official only after that round ended.

(Source: Sportsticker)