2010 #6 WRONG SCORE CARD

THE SCENE:
Erma was playing in an 18 hole tournament. The driver of the other cart was keeping the scores for all 4 players but Erma kept a backup. When they had finished play, the driver read off the totals for each player. Erma nodded. Those scores agreed with hers and she signed the driver’s official score card. She was pleased. With that score she might win the tournament.

During lunch, the assistant pro came to her table and told her that she had scored better than she thought. Her score had been added wrong. It was actually one less than that turned in.

Erma shook her head and pulled out her backup score card. She re-added her scores and came up with the same total. The pro compared the cards. On hole #7 she had a boggie 4. The driver had given her a 3, which was wrong. Erma said, “But the total score I signed for was correct.”

WAS THERE A PENALTY INVOLVED?
A. The hole score was less than reported, so Erma should be disqualified
B. The total was correct, so there should be no penalty.

A is correct. Erma was disqualified.
The player is not responsible for the total score. She is responsible for the score on each hole.

See Rule 6-6 Scoring in Stroke Play
c. Alteration of Score Card
No alteration may be made on a score card after the competitor has returned it to the committee.
d. Wrong Score for Hole
The competitor is responsible for the correctness of the score recorded for each hole on his score card. If he returns a score for any hole lower than actually taken he is disqualified. If he returns a score for any hole higher than actually taken, the score as returned stands.

Does that sound harsh? It is but it is not new. In 1957 Jackie Pung walked out to accept the trophy for winning the U.S. Women’s Open when it was discovered that she had signed a score card that was incorrect. Her actual score was good. She would have won. But her score card was wrong, so she was disqualified.

REMEMBER: After play, before signing a card to attest that your score is correct, compare the individual hole scores, not just the total score.