What Is PGA Tour’s New ‘Incorrect Scorecard’ Rule? How Is Jordan Spieth Connected to the Controversial Change?

“Rules are rules, and I take full responsibility,” expressed an unlucky Jordan Spieth the night following the second day’s play at the 2024 Genesis Invitational. The golfer was disqualified from the signature event owing to his signing an incorrect scorecard on the par-3, 4th hole. Many fans, consequently, turned against the men’s circuit with Kip Henley, a caddie, even dubbing it the “dumbest rule.” The Jay Monahan circuit seems to have heard the outcry, as a new rule was introduced just recently.

The news was shared on Sunday by Doug Ferguson, a golf writer from the Associated Press, while it was confirmed through a memo sent by the PGA Tour to its members. The new rule apparently allows the golfer to return to correct any error on the scorecard for a set period of time.

PGA Tour amends incorrect scorecard rule months after Jordan Spieth’s DQ

“Very underreported rule change this week,” mentioned Ferguson in a tweet as he revealed the 15-minute grace period while alluding to the whole fiasco with Jordan Spieth. Fast forward to Tuesday, and a memo was sent to the members confirming the regulation that will go into effect on the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Americas, and DP World Tour: “If a scorecard is validated in the scoring system and the player has left the scoring area, he may return to correct an error within 15 minutes of its validation.” 

That’s not all. In the instance that the error was identified by a scoring official, then he is allowed to go back and rectify the same within 15 minutes of the identification of the mistake without any penalty. But it’s not as if the regulation is without exceptions. The time that is to be given will be affected, however, “when constraints within the competition limit a player’s correction time to less than 15 minutes, such as releasing tee times following the cut, starting a playoff, or the close of the competition.” Before this, a golfer’s scorecard was considered to be ‘returned’ once they had left the scoring area.

The previous rules set by the USGA stated how the higher score would stand if the figure marked is higher than the actual score for the hole (remember Roberto De Vicenzo missing out on a playoff due to him incorrectly marking a 4 instead of a 3 on the 17th hole at the 1968 Masters?). Jordan Spieth’s case was different as he had incorrectly marked his numbers to be lower than the actual figures, resulting in disqualification. He had shot a two-over 73 on Friday but signed for a birdie on the 4th while he actually made a par.

There was a lot of support being dished out from various parts of the community following Spieth’s disqualification. Even the likes of Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy had come forward to back the athlete, with the former divulging the reason behind the apparent mistake.

Spieth receives support from fellow PGA Tour Pros

“He was really sick and he had a rough last hole,” disclosed the 2024 PGA Championship winner while referring to the fellow American Pro. Schauffele mentioned how Spieth had to go to the restroom and came back in a minute but by then, the card was marked wrong. He also urged for a change in regulations; “Maybe there needs to be some sort of softening on the rules, but for the most part we all kind of know what goes on in there. It’s really unfortunate it happened.”

McIlroy, meanwhile, talked about both sides of the coin. He pointed out how there doesn’t really need to be a change if it has worked without any hitch for so long. On the other hand, the Northern Irishman also highlighted the fact that the game was being watched by thousands of people with every shot being tracked on various apps before questioning the need for the rule. Well, the outcry sure didn’t fall on deaf ears. Jordan Spieth would be sporting a smile right about now!