Johnson Disqualified for Signing Incorrect Scorecard at Arnold Palmer Invitational
On Friday, Kamaiu Johnson was disqualified from the Arnold Palmer Invitational for signing an incorrect scorecard.[0] The dispute centred around Johnson’s score on the par-4 9th hole, where he made a triple-bogey 7 but signed for a 6.[1]
Johnson was engaging in a game with Nick Hardy and Kyle Westmoreland.[1] Hardy informed French that Johnson had a putt of 22 feet from the edge of the green for a par.[1] Earlier in the round, the threesome was flagged for slow play, so Hardy moved to the tee box of the 10th hole while Johnson was still on the ninth green. Johnson then missed his par putt and two more putts, one at 3 feet and one at 4 feet, resulting in bogey or double bogey.[1] He sank a 20-inch putt for a triple[1]
According to Shotlink, he then missed putts from 3 and 4 feet before tapping in for 7. This was in violation of Rule 3.3b(3), which states that: “During the round, the player should keep track of his or her scores for each hole. If a player returns a score lower than the actual score or no score returned, the player is disqualified.”[2]
It took a video replay to confirm whether Johnson actually took six or seven shots on the hole. Despite Johnson's assertion that he had scored a double-bogey six on the hole, the walking scorer, rules official, and PGA Tour Shotlink data all agreed that he had taken a triple-bogey seven.[3]
An hour after the incident, the officials had video footage of Johnson taking seven shots on the ninth hole. Seen as a discrepancy, the 29-year-old was disqualified from the tournament, even though he was six shots back of the cut line.[4]
It was evident that more information was required, so Hardy told a referee in charge of the rules that he was on the 10th tee box and thus had not witnessed the putting happen.[2] After an hour, the two men were informed that, due to video evidence, the score was a seven, not a six, resulting in Johnson being disqualified, even though he was six strokes behind the cut line.[2]
This occurrence is not unique to any one player, and more often than not it is a sincere error.[0] Johnson's final score was 8 over par, meaning he would have missed the cut by 6 strokes even if he had done better.[0]
0. “Why did Kamaiu Johnson get a DQ at Arnold Palmer Invitational?” HITC – Football, Gaming, Movies, TV, Music, 4 Mar. 2023, https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2023/03/04/why-did-kamaiu-johnson-get-a-dq-at-arnold-palmer-invitational
1. “Kamaiu Johnson DQ'd from Arnold Palmer Invitational for signing incorrect scorecard” Golf Channel, 4 Mar. 2023, https://www.golfchannel.com/news/kamaiu-johnson-dqd-arnold-palmer-invitational-signing-incorrect-scorecard
2. “Golfer Gets Disqualified At Arnold Palmer Invitational” Golf Monthly, 4 Mar. 2023, https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/golfer-gets-disqualified-at-arnold-palmer-invitational
3. “2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational: Kamaiu Johnson DQ'd for scoring violation” Yahoo Sports, 4 Mar. 2023, https://sports.yahoo.com/2023-arnold-palmer-invitational-kamaiu-190831100.html
4. “‘Filthy Cheat’: PGA Tour Pro’s Bizarre Disqualification Leaves Golf World in Fumes” EssentiallySports, 4 Mar. 2023, https://www.essentiallysports.com/golf-news-filthy-cheat-pga-tour-pros-bizarre-disqualification-leaves-golf-world-in-fumes/
