By mustang6560 on 5/16/12

Caroline Inglis was poised to become the first golfer in the history of Oregon high school athletics to win four straight individual titles. However, she was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

Inglis was disqualified after her final round for signing an incorrect scorecard. She shot a 3-under-par 69 at Trysting Tree Golf Club and would have finished at 2 under and won by nine shots.

Inglis' scorecard, however, reflected that she shot 68. Although golfers keep the cards of their playing partners, United States Golf Association rules dictate that each golfer must make sure that the individual score for each hole on her own card is correct before she signs it and turns it in.

Inglis' signed card showed that she made a par on the 18th hole, when she actually made a bogey, her lone bogey of the round. She was in the scoring area when someone mentioned that her score had been posted as a 68.

Inglis made a beeline inside, got her scorecard and reported the mistake. OSAA officials, following the USGA rules the tournament was played under, disqualified her.

Sure, it's every golfer's responsibility to double check his or her own scorecard before signing it, however, it's unfair that Caroline will be denied her rightful place in history because her playing partner can't add, and she did not catch the error in time (I imagine her adrenaline was in overdrive knowing she just made history).

The USGA needs to update its rules to make sure "clerical" errors like this do not prevent a deserving champion from winning. There is no worldly lesson, in my opinion, to be learned in this situation to justify the rule. It's just a silly rule that needs to be updated.

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Image via Flickr, arjunkamloops


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