Good afternoon Linda,
Another dilemma....
Situation
Player A has a 40 handicap. Player B has a 23 handicap. Difference: 17 strokes
17 strokes were given to player A. After 18 holes, the match was even.
The two players played additional holes until one would win, but there was no mention of handicaps at that time.
During play of the additional holes no strokes were given to player A, and on the 4th additional hole player B won.
Both players signed the scorecard as is.
Questions:
1-Was player B obliged to give strokes to player A, as she did on the first 18 holes?
2- If yes, do they have to replay the match or does the fact that the score card was signed mean that the issue is sealed?
Thank you,
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
When players are competing in a match with full handicap, the player with the lower handicap plays at scratch and the other player receives the difference in the two handicaps. In your situation, the difference was 17 strokes. The player with the higher handicap correctly received a stroke on every hole except the #18 handicap hole.
When a match extends to extra holes to determine a winner, the player with the higher handicap will receive strokes on the same holes she did the first time around. However, it is the player’s responsibility to know this. Since neither player understood that the player with the higher handicap was entitled to her handicap strokes during the play of extra holes, there is no penalty to either one and the match stands. Player B is the winner.
The player with the higher handicap could have filed a claim before teeing off on the second hole of extra play. She would have had to tell her opponent that she was entitled to receive her handicap strokes, and that she wanted a ruling. The matter would have been resolved by the Committee. In all likelihood, Player A would have been declared the winner – she halved the first three holes of sudden death without her handicap strokes. With those strokes, she would have won at least two of those three holes.
This match was over when the players agreed on the result of the match and reported it to the official in charge.
Linda
Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
