Tragedy struck today at the prestigious Riviera Country Club in California. The young and promising Jordan Spieth was disqualified from the Genesis Invitational because of a single mistake. The 29-year-old played like there was no tomorrow, but a single stroke – call it a bad stroke of luck – led to his premature ejection from the prestigious competition.
The world No. 13 submitted his scorecard with incorrect information. He made it to par-three fourth hole and the final score was two-over 73. However, he accidentally submitted 72, a lower score than the one he actually made. That was the one fatal mistake the world’s leading golfer made and it became his undoing. His quest was ended impulsively as per Rule 3.3b (3) of the USGA’s rules of golf, submitting a score lower than the actual one is grounds for disqualification.
What happened to Jordan Spieth today remains a warning for other golfers. However, Jordan made peace with his disqualification, admitting that he was wrong and didn’t follow the rules by accident. He tweeted this on February 17:
“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. Rules are rules, and I take full responsibility. I love this tournament and golf course as much as any on @PGATOUR so it hurts to not have a run at the weekend. Really appreciated the support in LA @thegenesisinv @thegenesisinv”
But others weren’t so thrilled about Spieth’s ejection; many giants in golf criticized this rule, and fans on social media that such outmoded rules needed to be replaced forever. Michael S. Kim described this rule as “stupid” and Kip Henley called it “the dumbest rule in all of sports.”
These gentlemen believe that this rudimentary scoring method is outdated; golfers shouldn’t keep a scorecard anymore. However, others were okay with what happened to Spieth and blamed the young golfer for the mishap. Dylan Wu said that it was the golfer’s responsibility to insert the correct score. Forgetting this seemingly minute but important piece of information is akin to writing “your name down on a test.” “Takes 5 seconds,” he scoffed.
Remember that players are responsible for keeping track of their scores. They are responsible for checking their scores and ensuring they are correctly written on the scorecard. The rule dictates that “markers” should keep track of the score, but players happen to be the markers in most cases.
Interestingly, however, handing in a score higher than the actual one wouldn’t have been grounds for disqualification. If Spieth had submitted 74 or 74, his score would have stood.
Also, similar incidents have happened before; Wyndham Clark suffered from the same fate in 2019 while it happened to Carlota Ciganda in 2022. Jordan Spieth today became another victim of one of the most controversial laws in the world of golf.
Spieth also congratulated another golfer and sarcastically reminded everyone of his folly. “Just make sure you double check that scorecard,” Spieth successfully attempted to do a self-burn.
