A college golfer was forced to disqualify himself after making it through a US Open local qualifier with a course record 62.
Tommy Kuhl, a fifth-year senior at the University of Illinois, had just shot 62 at Illini Country Club in Springfield, Illinois to make it through at the US Open qualifier when he realised that he had to DQ himself.
He was out watching his teammate Adrien Dumont De Chassart in a playoff for the final spot when another teammate made a comment about the aerated greens. That's when he realised that he wasn't allowed to repair the aeration marks.
“I felt sick to my stomach,” Kuhl told mondayq.com. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t tell the rules official.”
U of Illinois standout @tkuhlgolf shot a course record 62 today to win US Open localAnd then he DQ'd himselfI was afraid I had another cheating scandal on my hands. I couldn't have been more wrong. This is a story about honesty, integrity, and the..https://t.co/wrVyFk8cLKMay 9, 2023
Kuhl said he made "multiple" repairs of aeration marks on the greens during his round of 10-under, which is against the rules. Fixing spike marks is now allowed but not aeration marks.
Under Rule 13, you are allowed to fix "damage on the putting green" but that does not include "Normal practices for maintaining the overall condition of the putting green (such as aeration holes and grooves from vertical mowing)."
There are some occasions where a local rule is in place to allow the fixing of aeration marks, but this was not the case on the day at Illini CC.
“I should know better," Kuhl told mondayq.com. "It comes down to me. I should know that rule.”
The silver lining in the story is that Kuhl's Illinois teammate Adrien Dumont De Chassart made it through without needing a playoff.
