Linda, my partner and I are playing another twosome in Match Play.
We are having a tough hole. My partner is on the green in 4 and has a stroke. I
have a bogey putt left and no stroke so I pick up. One of our opponents makes a
birdie putt and misses but she has a 1-foot putt so we concede her putt. Her
playing partner has a 25 foot birdie putt left but she picks up because her
partner is in with a par to win the hole. The woman who picked up is a 9
handicap. My thinking is she should score the hole as a par because that is
what she would usually shoot on the hole. She wouldn't normally make a 25-foot
birdie putt, but she would usually make a par from 25 feet. We argued today as
she said the hole was conceded to her partner so she gets to count the hole as
if she had made the birdie putt. Is this true?
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
When the player posts her score for the round, she must calculate
her Most Likely Score for any hole that is not completed. In this case, she may
assume two putts from 25 feet and score the hole as a par.
Here is how Most Likely Score is defined in The USGA Handicap System manual:
A "most
likely score" is the score a player must post for handicap purposes if
a hole is started but not completed or if the player is conceded a stroke. The most
likely score consists of the number of strokes already taken plus, in the
player's best judgment, the number of strokes the player would take to complete
the hole from that position more than half the time. This number may not exceed
the player's Equitable Stroke Control limit.
Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
