Chico State Misses D-II Nationals Because of Wrongly Signed Scorecard

Golf can be an unforgiving sport. We saw how strict the PGA was last year when Dustin Johnson was penalized for grounding his club at the PGA Championship in August. We also saw a golfer get disqualified from a tournament because his alarm clock didn’t go off at the right time. We’ve even seen viewers on TV call into the PGA to report violations committed by players. Sadly this week we also saw the latest example of a disqualification over a scorecard.

Chico State, the third-ranked D-II golf team in the country, had a good chance at qualifying for the D-II nationals this week. The top five scoring teams at the region championship qualified for the nationals, and Chico State entered the final round five strokes away from a qualifying spot. They would have made it too if it weren’t for a wrongly signed scorecard.

Sophomore Cody Thompson (pictured) shot a 76 but signed for a 75, Golf Week reports. His penalty was a disqualification, leaving Chico State to count an 82. The six-stroke difference bumped them from fifth to seventh, taking them out of the running for the nationals.

It’s an extremely disappointing situation, and I continue to wonder if there’s a solution to this problem that seems more fair. Disqualifying an entire team over a mistake seems a bit harsh to me. There’s a big difference between lying about one’s score and making an honest mistake. This seems like the latter rather than the former, and the penalty is way too extensive. What do you think?

Club tap to David Coleman for the tip