PGA Tour Suspends Pro-Am DQ Rule

It's a week too late to help Jim Furyk, but the PGA Tour announced today it is suspending for the remainder of 2010 its rule requiring disqualification of any player who misses his tee time in the pro-am that precedes tournament play.

You'll recall that last week at The Barclays, Furyk overslept when his cellphone alarm failed to sound. Upon waking, he rushed to the tournament site and arrived only minutes after his pro-am group teed off. But, since he missed the tee time, he was disqualified from The Barclays.

The PGA Tour news release stated:

"Hereafter, should a player be late for his pro-am starting time, the situation will be handled as a matter of unbecoming conduct. Such player will be required to participate in the remainder of the pro-am round and may be required to perform additional sponsor activity. A player who misses his pro-am obligation in its entirety will still be ruled ineligible for the tournament unless he has been excused in accordance with the provisions of the regulations.

"The Commissioner has asked the Player Advisory Council and Player Directors to evaluate the current pro-am regulations to determine whether alternative measures can effectively ensure that players honor their pro-am obligations without placing them at risk of disqualification. The matter will be discussed at the Policy Board meeting in November."

Following Furyk's DQ, PGA Tour player Joe Ogilvie tweeted:

"I was on the policy board when we made the DQ pro-am rule, a mistake. Miss pro-am, should be a day with sponsor on players' dime, no DQ."

Furyk's DQ for missing the pro-am wasn't the first such DQ of 2010. It happened to Paul Azinger on the Champions Tour a week earlier, and to three players - including a past champion - at the LPGA major Kraft Nabisco Championship several months ago.

The DQ rule has been in place because most players hate playing the pro-ams. Without a stiff penalty for missing the pro-am, more players would probably come up with excuses not to play.

But no doubt the DQ rule is very harsh, and it's good to see the tour looking for alternatives. Maybe the LPGA will follow suit.