19th Hole
6 pros penalized following bizarre incident on Korn Ferry Tour
Promising Korn Ferry Tour player Wilson Furr was one of six players that were penalised for an innocent mistake during the Lecom Suncoast Classic last week, an error that the 24-year-old said, “cost me my job.”
First revealed by Monday-Q Info’s Ryan French, Furr, along with Alejandro Tosti and Mason Andersen, the KFT penalized the trio after taking an unauthorized shuttle ride from the 18th green to the first tee during their second rounds.
The three were each assessed two-stroke penalties for violating Model Local Rule G-6, which states, “A player or caddie must not ride on any transportation. A player operating under a stroke and distance penalty is always authorized.”
French explained that, “when the three players exited the tunnel [from the 18th], a cart marked “shuttle” was waiting for them. A volunteer was driving it, and he asked the players if they would like a ride. The three players and their caddies climbed on and were driven to the next tee. ”
Whilst that seems strange, the supplemental rules sheet for this week’s event specified that “automotive transportation is permitted during play from No. 7 green to No. 8 tee only.” However, the shuttles were also transporting players from the driving range to both starting tees (#1 and #10) and that’s where the confusion starts.
Tosti recounted the incident to Golf Channel, saying he noticed the cart as he emerged from the tunnel from 18th green.
“I asked the guy, ‘Are you giving rides to the first tee?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, jump in,'” the former Gator recalled. “I know that I cannot jump in a cart that is not official, but this was almost like organized. It almost seemed like someone sent this guy to give us a ride. It was ready, waiting for us to walk off the green and give us a ride to the first tee, and that guy apparently was not supposed to be there.”
Although both Furr and Tosti admitted they did not read the specifics of the local rule, Furr says that the walk from 18 to the first is a longer route than the official one taken by the carts. Therefore, “It wasn’t crazy for me to think there was supposed to be a shuttle there.”
Having played 12 holes and walking off their 13th (#4) a rules official asked the trio how they had arrived at the first hole.
“We let them hear it,” Furr said. “But after hearing the exact same response seven different ways, I just left. We weren’t getting anywhere. The guy’s word was final.”
Whilst the penalty made little difference to the immediate future of Anderson, who finished his round 13 shots off the cut-line, the penalty affected his playing partners in differing ways..
Tosti finished his second round with a penalty-laden 66, and followed that up with another five-under to lie just outside the top-10 with one round to go, but Furr’s tale is much sadder.
On his eighth and final guaranteed start, the former Future Masters and Mississippi State Amateur champion missed the cut by two shots, meaning his route into events after this week is via exemptions, invites or Monday qualifying.
He’s doubtful that his three cuts from eight events are enough to get him into the next four events, but it could have been so different.
“I don’t think it would be close if I made the cut, which I did. I don’t know, it’s just a tough pill to swallow,” he told Golf Channel.
However, in true Monday-Q style he confirmed he will be trying through whatever means possible to make more events.
“I guess I don’t have any other option [than to find alternative pathways to qualify] at this point,” Furr admitted, “but I’m going to fight.”
Furr wasn’t the only player unfortunate to take a real hit from the penalty.
The grouping of Boo Weekley, Jarad Wolfe and Ashton Van Horne admitted taking a similar path to the Furr grouping, this time from the ninth to 10th holes, but it was the three-time PGA Tour winner that suffered most.
Unlike Furr, 49-year-old Weekley didn’t take the cart but his caddie did, dropping him to 4-under and being another to miss the cut by just those penalty strokes.
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19th Hole
Brandel Chamblee has a surprising new take on the PGA Tour-LIV stand-off
One of the more outspoken analysts throughout the LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour saga has been Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee.
This week, Chamblee reversed course, saying he believes the PGA Tour should strike a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund (PIF).
Golf Channel Brandel Chamblee in his biggest about-face since the Framework Agreement on June 6, now says that making a deal with the PIF "is the better end of the bargain."
He says:
"The PGA Tour is in this pickle like it or not, but, do you want to compete with someone (LIV… pic.twitter.com/XDZaC1I6B8
— JCAGOLFReport (@JCAGOLFReport) May 10, 2024
“The PGA Tour is in this pickle like it or not, but, do you want to compete with someone who’s not going to go away, who can outspend you”.
“Every move they make that makes their tour better deletes your tour and causes more division within the tour. So the time is now, to Rory’s point about making a deal, I wouldn’t have said that a year ago… but it is the better end of the bargain.”
Chamblee’s new stance seems to be in line with that of Rory McIlroy, who reportedly wanted to rejoin the PGA Tour board with hopes of pushing a deal with the PIF closer to the finish line.
Chamblee will be in the booth for next week’s PGA Championship which has 16 LIV players in the field.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Xander Schauffele explains free drop ruling during round one of Wells Fargo Championship
During Thursday’s opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship, Xander Schauffele blasted his tee shot in the woods to the right of the fairway on the par-4 8th hole.
The ball was almost not found, but Xander’s group managed to track it down just before the three-minute time limit was reached.
When the ball was found, it was just beyond the penalty area close to a fence. In the moment, it seemed incredibly unlikely that Schauffele would be able to hit the ball through the trees towards the green.
However, through the woods and above the fairway, there was a hanging wire from a ShotLink tower that Xander claimed was in his way. He was then granted relief, and two club lengths from the spot positioned him all the way out of trouble. He played his ball onto the front of the green and two-putted for par.
Here is the full video of the interaction between Schauffele and the rules official.
??? #WATCH — The full video of the Xander Schauffele #DropGate situation ?
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 9, 2024
After the round, Xander said he “got really lucky.”
“Got really lucky multiple times, on 1 with Wyndham finding it, 2, being able to move the rocks, and 3, the ShotLink tower being in like my only shot line possible. To walk out there with sort of a no breeze 4 with what I thought was almost out was a really good break.”
“Yeah, I hit it in the trees. My ball was probably like a foot, two feet from the fence. If I — ball was here, fence was kind of here, hitting back this direction.
“If I went towards the green, the fence kind of worked this way so I had what I could hit, a 4-iron or something low and just kind of run it through. If it gets stuck, I’ll just kind of hit my next one out. But I brought the rules official in there with me because I was like, you’ve got to be OK with this because this is literally the only shot I can hit.”
“So Austin [Kaiser] and I moved two massive rocks that weren’t embedded and then I got relief out of the junk and then hit a pretty good shot on the green from there. What was a very stressful moment turned into a pretty stressless par.”
Schauffele finished the round at seven under, which gives him a three-shot lead going into Friday’s second round.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Report: Tiger Woods voted against Rory McIlroy returning to policy board; Will be the only player negotiating directly with Saudis
According to a report from The Telegraph, the relationship between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has soured.
Last week, reports surfaced that McIlroy, who was a member of the PGA Tour policy board during most of the past few years, was looking to rejoin the board, presumably taking Webb Simpson’s seat.
However, on Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he will not be rejoining the policy board, due to people on the board being “uncomfortable” with that “for some reason.”
Here's Rory McIlroy talking about the PGA Tour policy board and the "subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason." pic.twitter.com/0skNOwtWxz
— Patrick McDonald (@pmcdonaldCBS) May 8, 2024
The Telegraph has reported that Tiger Woods was among the players who voted against McIlroy returning to the policy board.
The divide is apparently due to McIlroy pushing for the game of golf to unify, whereas Woods, reportedly, believes the PGA Tour is in a fine position where it currently stands.
The Associated Press added another wrinkle to the situation, reporting that Woods is the only player who will be negotiating directly with the Saudis.
The other members of the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, and Joe Ogilvie, who was a former PGA Tour player.
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