Friday was a wild day at the 2024 Genesis Invitational.
First, there was tournament host Tiger Woods withdrawing from the tournament at Riviera Country Club because of an illness, even a scare with an ambulance waiting to possibly take him away. Then after the round was completed, one of the stars of the PGA Tour was disqualified.
Jordan Spieth was DQ’d after signing an incorrect scorecard. Spieth signed for a 3 after making a 4 on the 245-yard, par-3 fourth hole. He hit his tee shot into the left rough, chipped to within four feet and then missed the par putt.
Spieth owned up to his mistake, posting on his social media accounts about the ordeal.
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…
— Jordan Spieth (@JordanSpieth) February 17, 2024
The announcement came late Friday night, with Spieth in the third-to-final group of the day, and it sent social media into a frenzy discussing the rule and how it happened in the first place.
However, that didn’t stop the shortage of people discussing whether the rule needed to be changed or if it was the right call. Here are some of the best reactions to Spieth’s DQ:
Softer penalty please
Why are we still doing this guys? Nobody benefits in this. @RandA @USGA Can we please look at changing this rule to a softer penalty please?
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) February 17, 2024
A reason why you sign
It’s fun to get outraged at golf rules and call them antiquated, but there’s a reason why players sign a scorecard.
Your score is YOUR responsibility. And there’s no way a player is going to (or should) trust anyone else with their official score.
Yes, there’s shotlink on…
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) February 17, 2024
Sarcasm font
Should Spieth be suspended, and for how long?
— deepfriedegg (@deep_fried_egg) February 17, 2024
Michael Kim with some perspective
With regards to the rule itself: I think players should be in charge of ur scores. Volunteers are scorers but they aren’t 100% reliable, especially overseas. If there’s two players on opposite sides of the hole, it can get difficult to figure out what everyone has made. You take…
— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) February 17, 2024
Don't mess up, no issue
All this Golf Twitter chatter about Spieth’s scorecard DQ.
Here’s a thought: write down the correct score and it’s not an issue. pic.twitter.com/cntG4r4ivw
— Bryan Tweed (@BryanTweed16) February 17, 2024
Spieth mode
going spieth mode at the bars tonight: not checking any of the numbers that get put on my card
— Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) February 17, 2024
Not great
It turns out that this might not be the best idea. https://t.co/yCD2CnCfAd
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) February 17, 2024
Tough day
Losing Tiger and Spieth on the same day at the biggest event of the first two months of the season … tough run right now for the tour. https://t.co/Ske1bHHOsa
— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) February 17, 2024
Who will keep score if players don't?
Let’s say the “big government needs to save me!” types get their way and we have players stop keeping their own scorecards and we turn it over to volunteers and Shotlink and tv cameras.
Who keeps score in US Open qualifying? Who keeps score in Monday qualifying? In college? HS?
— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) February 17, 2024
Math is hard
Amazes me how often this happens in pro golf. Math is hard….I guess 🤷♂️💀. Takes 5 seconds for the Tour officials to read your scores back and for you to check them. Hot take but this is equivalent to forgetting to write your name down on a test lol.
— Dylan Wu (@dylan_wu59) February 17, 2024
Stupid rule
No Tiger (unfortunate) and Spieth (stupid rule) for the weekend at Riviera is another tough break for the PGA Tour. And Patrick Cantlay with a 5-shot lead doesn’t exactly scream big ratings.
— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) February 17, 2024
Dumbest rule in sports
Another benchmark in the dumbest rule in all of sports.
— KIP HENLEY (@KipHenley) February 17, 2024
Ode to Tiger (also sarcasm)
Love the respect for Tiger. If he’s not playing the weekend neither are you #respect pic.twitter.com/0dAJLlAILP
— Kyle Krueger (@KyleK21) February 17, 2024
A joke
The PGA Tour is a joke
— yungkuch (@YungKuch) February 17, 2024
Counting is hard
Totally understand. Counting to four is hard.
— jimmy jim james jimbo (@The_foundersnet) February 17, 2024
Isn't a worse feeling
There isn’t a worse feeling in professional golf. It is very expensive and embarrassing. I did it twice on @PGATOUR. One of the times I got me and my Amateur partner, Herb @Kohler, DQ’d at @attproam 🤦♂️ Herb forgave me, but I still haven’t forgiven myself.
— Ted Purdy (@TedPurdy) February 17, 2024
Utter nonsense
It's utter nonsense that we still DQ players for this, especially with all the technology we have at hand. Time for a change @PGATOUR.
— Niall McGrath (@niallmcgrath4) February 17, 2024
What if someone else did it?
The outrage for the incorrect scorecard DQ would be the same if it was Tom Hoge who committed the crime.
— Andy Johnson (@AndyTFE) February 17, 2024
