So when you read that a Golfer (Sergio Garcia in this case) gets thrown out of a major Tournament for signing a Scorecard that is incorrect…it sorta’ sounds like Peyton Manning being thrown out of a Playoff Game for wearing the wrong socks!
Okay…the analogy is most likely VERY poor…but obviously this is a MAJOR “faux paux” in Golfing. So…
For the non-Golfer; what exactly happened?
Obviously this is serious; but is this serious for THIS Tournament; or is this a HUGE “no-no” in Golf in general?
While you are golfing (in pro events) your caddy writes down your score on an official score card. At the end of your round, you sign it and hand it in. If it is wrong, and you sign it, it is considered cheating, and you get thrown out of that tournament.
It’s a huge no-no in golf in general. It’s happened a few times in golf history, that a person wins a tournament, but signs an incorrect score card and gets booted.
This may sound dumb; but in these Major Tournaments with so much money at stake; there is no “Official” score keeper?
(Hey…I’m not a Golfer!)
Mufasa[/quote]
No official score keeper. Since golf is a game of honesty and integrity you keep your own score. I actually read a story about a guy playing in a tounrmanet that would qualify him for the PGA Tour. He signed his card saying he shot 66 when he really shot 65 and they still disqualified him! Probably lost a lot of money there…
Two things. First, the rule is outdated, much like some puritanical laws that are still around these days (like the one in Ohio that says it’s illegal to get a fish drunk…no, really, it is). Basically, before the days of cameras and television, players were kind of on their own in terms of the scoring. So the rule was made to deter golfers from cheating.
One other thing: the golfers keep track of their own scores. Because of this rule they all keep their own score. And I agree that, at this point with the PGA constantly on television theres absolutely no point for having the rule.
Very, very good question, Mufasa. I actually didn’t know the answer but it intrigued me so I did some quick searching. Apparently, there’s an ‘official scorekeeper’, a company called Unisys, that keeps track of all the scores. They’re the group that collects all the current scores and sends them to different areas of the course for updated leaderboards, and also has them transmitted to the network covering the event.
I’m happy I looked that up, because I’ve actually wondered in the past who did that.
So I wasn’t done searching…great article that describes the rule and what, exactly, happened with Garcia.
So apparently I was wrong with my earlier post; the PLAYING PARTNER keeps the score, and after the round the player has to verify his own score, signing it.
[quote]meangenes wrote:
So why then would he intentionally cheat. He has to know about Unisys. It doesn’t really add up to me.
Makes me think that it would be unintentional. Just a technicality that you have to be wary of? [/quote]
Mean, that’s exactly what it was: completely unintentional and the only times I’ve heard of golfers being DQ’d was just not checking the scorecard for accuracy and many times they actually sign a HIGHER score than they got (which, according to the rules, doesn’t disqualify them, they just have to take how many extra shots went on the card).
Sergio’s a jackass…he’s no cheater, but he’s a sore loser and maybe if he didn’t blame everyone else for his problems and checked the scorecard before signing it he might actually win one of these tournaments.
[quote]golferguy12 wrote:
I actually read a story about a guy playing in a tounrmanet that would qualify him for the PGA Tour. He signed his card saying he shot 66 when he really shot 65 and they still disqualified him! Probably lost a lot of money there…
[/quote]
The '68 Masters wound up in a tie between Roberto Devicenzo and Bob Goalby, but Goalby was pronounced the winner when it turned out Devicenzo signed a scorecard showing his score to be one shot higher than it really was. That score stood, Devicenzo came in second.
I remember watching the tapes, it was depressing to watch him as he realised what happened. Money, fame, a chance at winning the masters…all gone.
You basically need to ensure your partner gets the right score down, if he doesnt and you sign your scorecard, you’re done.
And yeh, I’ll admit i’m a golf nerd, hah.
This may sound dumb; but in these Major Tournaments with so much money at stake; there is no “Official” score keeper?
(Hey…I’m not a Golfer!)
Mufasa
No official score keeper. Since golf is a game of honesty and integrity you keep your own score. I actually read a story about a guy playing in a tounrmanet that would qualify him for the PGA Tour. He signed his card saying he shot 66 when he really shot 65 and they still disqualified him! Probably lost a lot of money there…
[/quote]
I don’t know if it was the same tourney or not, but Grant Fuhr (NHL goalie) had that happen which disqualified him from the PGA. Absolutely one of the dumbest rules in a sport.
I’m pretty sure he didn’t intentionally cheat. He made a mistake by signing an incorrect card. I can’t imagine a pro doing that on purpose. Any of the guys I play with however…
I believe if he questions the accuracy of his scorecard then his partner and the course officials would help him verify the score but not sure on that one.
In any strokeplay tournament,the responsibility for keeping one’s own score rests with the player.If for example ,on consecutive holes you score 4 then 5,but on your card you have marked 5 then 4,while the grand total may be the same,you have signed for a lower score on one of the holes than what you actually made.Disqulification results.
Also ,when you tee off you swop cards with your playing partner,and then act ask each other’s ‘marker’.
At the end of the round ,in the scorer’s tent ,you check your score as your MARKER,not you,has written it down.It is then you have to correct any mistakes he may have made.
The responsibility is the player’s alone.
Once you have signed for your score,that’s how it is recorded and no error,wether by accident or purposeful,even if it results in no advantage,can be rectified.
and the result of any discrepancy is disqualification if a lower score is signed for on any given hole,or that the higher total stands if the error was in the opposite direction.
I’m with you Mufasa, I am clueless about golf. Furthermore, if there is no official scorekeeper, how would they know the score card is incorrect?[/quote]
As I said, there is an official scorekeeper, but they still have the outdated rule that a scorecard needs to be submitted and signed by each participant, and if it isn’t accurate then a DQ will follow.
re: cheating, I don’t think anyone thought he was cheating and I would never accuse him of doing that. But it was very telling to me that Sergio was quoted as saying that this isn’t the first time it’s happened to him (the whole ‘me against the world’ argument that he loves to use).
If that’s the case, then why didn’t he learn from the first time it happened and verify the score before he signs the card. It can’t take more than 5 minutes to sit down with you caddy and verify each score. Blame yourself, Sergio, for not caring enough to verify your own score.
One of the things about the rules in Golf is that they are designed to be followed by everyone at all levels.
I for example play a few matches a year. We keep our own score, same as the pro’s. The rest of us don’t have the technology that a pro tournament has access to. The rules are for both pro’s and amatuers to follow.
