Golfer loses potential spot in US Open qualifying after signing incorrect scorecard because of rain

May 17, 2013

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A golfer was disqualified from US Open sectional qualifying after a competitor called in to report him for signing an incorrect scorecard, which was the result of the golfer having to recall his scores from memory because his scorecard was ruined in the rain.

Andrew Jensen, who is a PGA Tour Canada member, was one of 49 golfers to tee it up at a US Open local qualifying event at Bellevue Country Club in Syracuse, NY, on Wednesday. Jensen signed for a 76, which was the second-best score. The 76 would have given him one of three spots in sectional qualifying, which takes place on June 3. But Jensen inadvertently signed an incorrect scorecard, leading to his disqualification.

Unfortunate news everybody. I signed an incorrect scorecard today and never realized until after all the excitement subsided. The result, DQ

— Andrew Jensen (@andrewjensen) May 15, 2013

It turns out that Jensen shot a 77, not a 76. Jensen apparently three-putted on the par-5 5th hole and earned a seven, but he mistakenly marked himself down for a six.

“The mistake happened because my own personal scorecard was ruined from the rain so I had to briefly go on memory,” Jensen told Larry Brown Sports in a Twitter message.

“A six-hour time in that weather had me fried and being that many over had me sign it quickly. Then as the day went on the score was holding up and I was just in shock that scores were so high.

“It’s really a bummer because the 77 I actually shot was still enough to qualify,” Jensen told LBS.

Had Jensen signed for a 77 — which was his actual score — he would have been part of a four-way tie. The four golfers would have had a playoff to determine who earned the spots in the sectional qualifying.

Canadian pro Brian McCann earned one of the three qualifying spots by shooting a 75. Canadians Chris Hemmerich and Greg Cuthill earned the other two spots by shooting 77s. Amateur Patrick Milkovich of New York lost the playoff and is an alternate.

Jensen told LBS he liked his chances in a playoff because he won a playoff there two years ago.

Flagstick.com initially reported the story and said that Jensen called tournament officials to notify them that he had signed an incorrect scorecard. New York State Golf Association Executive Director Bill Moore told Larry Brown Sports that a competitor made a call to the officials after noticing an error while reviewing the scorecard online. They spoke with Jensen and reviewed his round, and he agreed he had made a mistake when recording his score on the fifth hole.

It’s a tough break for Jensen, but he seems to be handling it with a positive attitude.

“[The ordeal is a] huge disappointment but not a setback,” he said. “I have to remember I still played well enough to go through and that’s the bottom line. The debacle in the scorers tent can’t take that away from me. If I had been later in the draw I certainly would have been more thorough because I would have seen so many high scores posted. Even the officials thought 76 was too high after I signed.”

Jensen also tweeted this message the day after the event: