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Last Friday, Jordan Spieth shot a two-over-par round of 73 at Riviera Country Club on the second day of the 2024 Genesis Invitational at The Riviera Country Club. But because he signed for a par on the par-3 4th hole when in fact he had made a bogey, and subsequently left the scoring area, he was disqualified from the tournament.
Why such a severe penalty for what, in Spieth’s case, was an honest mistake? The answer lies in one of the most admirable aspects of golf: the way in which it holds its players to admirable ethical standards.
As in life, personal responsibility is a pillar of golf. The very first lines of the game’s written code, the Rules of Golf, say it all:
“You must play the golf course as you find it and you must play the ball as it lies.”
How scorekeeping is part of golf's code of honor
This line may not seem directly related to scorekeeping, but it’s all connected. The requirement to “play the ball as it lies” is not just a procedural note. It assumes a golfer will behave ethically.
After all, most times when a player arrives at his or her ball, the other players in the group are often tracking down their own shots, not paying much attention to others until just before they are going to hit. Left unattended, a golfer could improve his or her lie without anyone being any the wiser. But to do so would not only break golf’s cardinal rule, but undermine the concept of basic personal responsibility.
Playing a golf ball as it lies is a life metaphor. A crummy lie is a stand-in for any obstacle that comes along in life. Playing by the rules, even when no one is watching, goes far beyond our beloved stick-and-ball game. Integrity and accountability are fundamental moral tentpoles.
The same goes for scorekeeping. Players exchange scorecards so that they record the scores of one other player in their group, overlaying a simple verification system onto golf’s backbone of personal responsibility. At the end of each round, each player checks his or own scores, signs his or her own scorecard (alongside the marker) and submits it to be added to the scoreboard. By signing his or her scorecard, a golfer takes an oath of personal responsibility, entering that round into the game's centuries-old honor system.
Yes, disqualification is a severe penalty to levy on an honest mistake like Spieth's, but it is necessary because it must discourage bad actors out there who might try to cheat, willfully lowering their score. I had to involve myself in such a situation in a junior tournament 20 years ago, when a player in my group tried to sign for a significantly lower score than he actually shot.
Any competitive player - especially a PGA Tour veteran like Spieth - has been through this process hundreds of times. Scoring discrepancies come up but are often resolved before players leave the scoring area, after which time scores are considered final. Unfortunately, Spieth had left the designated scoring area before realizing his mistake. It was too late. His Genesis Invitational was over because he had signed for a lower score than he shot.
If Spieth signed for a higher score on a specific hole, he would not have been disqualified. The higher score would have stood, as was the case in the final round of the 1968 Masters when Roberto De Vincenzo signed for a par instead of a birdie on the 17th for a final score of 66, rather his actual 65, costing him a chance at a playoff with Bob Goalby.
To no one’s surprise, Spieth took total responsibility for his error. "Today, I signed for an incorrect scorecard and stepped out of the scoring area, after thinking I went through all procedures to make sure it was correct," he posted on Instagram. "Rules are rules, and I take full responsibility".
Reactions to Spieth's DQ ignore importance of golf's code of ethics
Immediately, the peanut gallery came out on social media to call the rule “asinine,” “stupid” and other ugly adjectives. Why should pro golfers have to keep their own scores when there are officials like walking scorers with each group, and many shots are televised? some wondered.
The fact is that the external trappings of any golf tournament have zero bearing on the fundamental nature of golf's code of ethics. A major championship and a city four-ball are ultimately contested under the same code. It doesn't matter whether players are competing for $4 million or a few bucks in pro shop credit. The Rules of Golf binds these events and all in between together. It's what makes golf a society-within-a-society, one where individual ethical responsibilities are taken seriously by default.
We venerate golfers like Bobby Jones, who called a penalty on himself in the 1925 U.S. Open, costing him the tournament, for their integrity. Accurate scorekeeping is part of golf's honor code. Without it, the game could be weakened by cheats, removing all certainty from the posting of scores and destroying the fabric of competition.
To be doubly clear, no one is making any kind of statement about Spieth’s integrity in this case. His was an honest mistake. The fact that he took his punishment with grace only underlines his stature in the game as an upstanding competitor. But because there may be other cases where something nefarious is afoot, the same severe penalty must apply across the board in order to avoid debatable grey areas.
It was unfortunate to lose out on the opportunity to see Spieth’s exciting brand of golf for two more days around one of the world’s great championship courses, but ultimately the game of golf - and its positive ethical implications for all who play - remains bigger than one player’s honest but costly mistake.
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Comments (1)
Pro golf needs to minimally change the penalty or the absolute best plan is to use tournament scorers for each group or but they do that, but do not use them for the results. It is the only sport that a professional has to take ownership for their score. Why? Has any PGA tour player cheated on scoring? Can’t do that in today’s environment with TV coverage showing every score by player and the scorer walking with each group keeping track. The solution is to come into the world and use non biased professional scorers that every hole require the player to validate the score they did on each hole. The results of each tournament should reflect what the professional executes on every shot on the course! The traditionalists need to sell their rotary dial phones and come into the new era of technology in this case to make life right.
Pro golf needs to minimally change the penalty or the absolute best plan is to use tournament scorers for each group or but they do that, but do not use them for the results. It is the only sport that a professional has to take ownership for their score. Why? Has any PGA tour player cheated on scoring? Can’t do that in today’s environment with TV coverage showing every score by player and the scorer walking with each group keeping track. The solution is to come into the world and use non biased professional scorers that every hole require the player to validate the score they did on each hole. The results of each tournament should reflect what the professional executes on every shot on the course! The traditionalists need to sell their rotary dial phones and come into the new era of technology in this case to make life right.