Dear Linda,
I was in a tournament yesterday when a player who had played
earlier in the day joined the group ahead of us. This player was not included
in our tee sheet. He did not even pay or notify the Pro shop that he would do a
repeat. Since he was a friend of the guys ahead of us, they allowed him to join
them and played.
My question is does the group who allowed this player to
join them breach any rule?
Thanks again Linda for your help.
Lou from Daly City, California
Dear Lou,
I suspect you won’t be surprised to learn that there is no
simple answer.
In stroke play, competitors are required to play the round
in the group arranged by the Committee [Rule 6-3b]. If a stray player joins that
group, the Committee must decide whether to approve the change. If the change
is approved, there is no penalty to the players in the original pairing (but
read the next paragraph regarding the stray player); if it is not approved, the
players are disqualified.
If the stray player is a competitor in the tournament, he
may incur penalties for joining the group. If he will be competing at a later
time, he is subject to disqualification for practicing on the course prior to
his round. If he has finished his round, but there is another round yet to be
played, he is subject to disqualification for practicing on the course between
rounds [Rule 7-1b]. He may also be disqualified if the Committee rules that
this was a serious breach of etiquette [Rule 33-7].
Moving on to match play, in a singles match (A vs. B), if
Player A invites someone to accompany the match, Player B may object and file a
claim. In that case, the Committee should uphold the claim and award the match
to Player B. If Player B does not object to a third player joining the match,
the match would stand as played [Decision 2/1].
I consulted a USGA official to learn the correct rulings.
Linda
Copyright © 2016 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
