Sharing club selections among players likely is the most violated rule in professional golf. Numerous players have quietly acknowledged that it happens, and former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has called it a “common practice” on tour.
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With that knowledge, Cole Hammer could have let a small exchange with a competitor’s caddie slide in this week’s Memorial Health Championship in Springfield on the Korn Ferry Tour. But after the round and into the night on Thursday, the circumstance ate at the former University of Texas star and top amateur in the world, and so Hammer reported it to officials.
After a lengthy review on Friday morning, the result was that both he and his fellow player Nelson Ledesma, whose caddie Nico Torres flashed a sign about club selection that Hammer responded to, were disqualified for signing incorrect scorecards from the first round. (Hammer signed for 69 and Ledesma 73.)
“I feel a lot better now that I at least got it off my chest because it was weighing me down,” Hammer, 25, told GolfChannel.com, which reported the story first. “It’s just unfortunate that it’s a caused a little storm around the tournament.”
Rule 10.2a in the Rules of Golf prohibits players from giving or asking for advice from anyone other than their own caddie. In this circumstance, that rule was violated after Hammer hit his shot on the par-3 17th at Panther Creek Country Club. Hammer said that as he walked back to his bag, Ledesma’s caddie showed him four fingers, as in “4-iron?” Hammer said that out of instinct he responded with an affirmative “4.”
“It was a heat-of-the-moment thing, and I didn’t think a whole lot about it until after the round,” Hammer said.
[Hector Vivas]
“I feel like I know the rules really well, and I’ve always tried to uphold them to the best of my ability,” Hammer said. “It just didn’t sit right with me last night, and when I woke up this morning, I felt compelled to go talk to the rules official and tell him what had happened.”
On Friday morning, without telling Ledesma or his caddie because he didn’t want to worry them, Hammer reported his concerns to KFT rules officials. They took an extended time to decide what to do, and Hammer and Ledesma weren’t informed that they’d been disqualified until six holes into their second rounds. Hammer stood at one under overall at the time, while Ledesma was two over. The cut eventually came at five under.
“I didn’t think that they would be disqualified,” Hammer said. “I just thought since I was the one who gave the sign that I would be disqualified. And I thought that was worst-case scenario.”
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GolfChannel.com reported that the KFT confirmed the reason for disqualification but did not provide further details.
In a translated response to questions from GolfChannel.com, Ledesma, 34, said, “The decision made is the correct one, according to the rules. I can’t do much with it except accept it.” He said Torres was “shocked by the situation,” but accepted the mistake.
“This is something that’s so abnormal to experience in a tournament, so I’m almost just going to have to cast it away like nothing happened,” Hammer said. “It’s a learning experience, and I think I’m in a better head space having called it on myself. … I’m by no means depressed about the outcome or nervous about the next stretch. If anything, I can play with a clean slate and a clear conscious and hopefully continue the play that I had in Wichita [T-23].
“There are plenty of events left, and I felt like doing the right thing and protecting the game would be better for me in the long run.”
Hammer, who has made only five cuts in 15 starts this season, stands at 73rd on the KFT season points list. Ledesma, an Argentinian who has two KFT wins, is 102nd in points and has made five cuts in 14 appearances.
