PONTE VEDRA BAY, Fla. – Did Kamaiu make one of the worst golf mistakes and sign for a lower score than what he actually made on a hole. It all depends on who you ask.
Johnson, 29 years old, was disqualified for violating Rule 3.3b by signing an incorrect scorecard following the second round at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Johnson, who is a multiple winner on the APGA Tour was playing under a sponsor exemption. Johnson would have missed it anyway, but that is irrelevant to Nick Hardy who was playing in the group alongside Johnson and Kyle Westmoreland. He also kept his scorecard.
Johnson’s account says that Johnson made a double-bogey 6 at the par-4 9th hole. This was not a seven. Johnson shot 5-over 77 at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge on Friday, missing the cut by six strokes. ShotLink data shows Johnson shot a 22 1/2-par putt from the fringe. He missed putts of three, four and five feet for bogey, double bogey, and then he hit a 20 inch putt for his 7.
Hardy said that there were a lot of chances he could have claimed he made six, which is unfortunate as it suggests that there was cheating. This came before he played in the Players Championship. “I know, especially in tournament situations, that I never forget what I shot when I play golf.
On Sunday, Westmoreland stated to Golfweek that Johnson didn’t finish the hole as the group was on the clock.
After his third round, Westmoreland stated that “We were on time so I walked away.” “I assumed that he made the one after it was missed.”
Hardy agreed with that sentiment.
“We were warned the day before (for slow play) and warned when we got off the tee box at nine on Friday. Hardy stated that it was fresh. A warning can be used to penalize you as a member, but it doesn’t apply to non-members who play at a faster pace. I am not the one getting penalized for my pace of play. I have been paired up with non-members for the past three weeks, and I have received five to six warnings. You can be fined $50,000 if you receive 25 warnings. This is a huge amount of money and it’s not fair to anyone.
Johnson was not keeping score with Hardy. He had a legitimate reason to walk ahead of Johnson in an effort catch up.
Hardy stated, “I’m going be penalized even though it’s obvious that I did nothing wrong.” “If we hadn’t been warned, I wouldn’t have walked off of the green. The situation would have been different. Kamaiu might not have known that I’d seen it. I had good reasons to not be there.
The group’s walking scorer confirmed Johnson’s triple-bogey 7 after the round. Officials at ShotLink used video from the hole to show the four putts.
“I will say this: they gave him many chances after the round. Even after he signed his cards, there were a few more opportunities to say that he made 7. They knew that they had video evidence from the running cam on 9. ShotLink claimed he was a 7, but the walking scorer stated he was a 7. He insisted that he was a 6. He said that he had a 7, but ShotLink claimed he had a 7. However, the walking scorer stated that he had a 7 and he insisted he had spelled it correctly. Hardy stated that this was the troubling issue he had. The Tour provided him with multiple opportunities to confront it. This is something I know for a fact, because I received calls from the scoring officials within an hour of signing the card. Montana Thompson and Casey Jones were talking to Kamaiu outside the locker room. It is definitely alarming.”
“It happens, I suppose,” Westmoreland said to Golfweek. It doesn’t really matter at the end of it all. He missed the cut. It’s not a great look for some people but it’s something I can’t comment on. It was not a factor. It was handled well by the Tour.
Hardy, however, disagreed with Westmoreland’s assertion that “it doesn’t matter; he missed it.”
“That’s unfair, because he was on the cut line when he played that hole. He only needed to shoot 2 less if he had won with a 6 Hardy stated that it was important, and it matters a lot. “I believe you should be accountable. People who believe a player shouldn’t be allowed to make mistakes like those caused by a caddie or that the walking scorer should take charge are wrong. The player should have 100 percent control of their score. It is amazing because it taught so many lessons about life. It’s a true meritocracy, in that you must be honest in your life, take responsibility, own it, and have integrity for others.
Johnson apologized on Saturday via social media. He tweeted, “I take integrity of the game very serious and I’m sorry it happened.” I was a bit overwhelmed by the time and lost track of the number of missed putts at 3 feet. I will do better.
By: Adam Schupak
Title: Nick Hardy reacts to Kamaiu Johnson scorecard DQ: 'It looks like there may have been a cheating situation'
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/03/08/pga-tour-arnold-palmer-invitational-nick-hardy-kamaiu-johnson-dq-cheating-situation/
Published Date: Wed, 08 Mar 2023 17:14:08 +0000
Leave a Reply