Hi Linda,
Could you solve a problem that sometimes occurs in 4-ball
better-ball stroke-play competitions? Most of the time we are all guilty of
checking after 9 holes how many points were scored, then after the back nine
and the total. We don't always check that the right scores were put in the
CORRECT COLUMNS, i.e., the score against the correct person. Yesterday we had a
team come in with a winning score but the columns were the opposite of what
they should have been–player A's (9hcp) scores were in column B and player B's
(18hcp) scores were in column A. The card was signed by marker and player and
handed in. Maybe an hour later someone noticed that the scores were the wrong
way round.
Question 1 - is that team automatically disqualified?
Question 2 - if the person who signed as player is still in
the clubhouse can he rectify his mistake?
As always thank you for your invaluable guidance.
Lou from the U.K.
Dear Lou,
Unfortunately, the team is disqualified [Rule 6-6d]. I
believe it is safe to assume that, for at least one of the holes, the score
that was recorded for one of the players was lower than the score he had
actually taken. The penalty is disqualification.
The players would have been permitted to correct the
position of the names, had they done so prior to submitting their scorecard. There
is no option to change the scorecard once it has been signed and turned in to
the official scorer and the competitors have left the scoring area [Rule 6-6c,
Decision 6-6c/1].
Reviewing the total
score for each nine is a terrible habit. Players are not responsible for
the total score (they are only responsible for the hole-by-hole score), so why
look at the total score at all? How much trouble is it to read off nine scores
for each player at the turn, and again at the end? Would it take more than a
minute or two? Is it worth running the risk of disqualification?
Linda
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