Roe Shoots 67, Gets Disqualified

The Golf Channel ^ | 7/19/03 | Mercer Baggs

[TomB]

SANDWICH, England -- Mark Roe blew kisses to the crowd and walked off the 18th hole triumphantly Saturday afternoon at Royal St. George’s.

The Englishman had just shot 4-under 67 and had moved to 1-over par, and into contention in the 132nd Open Championship.

Fifteen minutes later, he got some of the worst news of his professional life.

Mark Roe was informed, after doing a television interview, that he and playing competitor Jesper Parnevik (81) had been disqualified after signing incorrect scorecards.

In this event, players are given their own scorecard before the round and are expected to exchange them on the first tee before keeping one another’s score.

Roe and Parnevik did not exchange cards. Therefore, Parnevik kept Roe’s score on his own card, and Roe did the same.

Despite a lengthy stay in the scorer’s tent after the round, the mistake was not noticed. And when the two left the premises, after each signed the incorrect cards, they were automatically disqualified.

"I spent plenty of time in the hut. I didn't rush in and rush out. Obviously after having a good day I'm going to double and triple check my scores," Roe said. "It's unfortunate that no one noticed. But there's no one else to blame but myself."

Roe could have accepted Parnevik's score of 81 -- since that is the one he signed -- if all of Jesper's scores had been equal to or higher than Mark's. But Roe made a 5 at the par-5 fifth, while Parnevik had a 4.

Had they not signed their cards, they could have changed all the numbers appropriately.

"I just feel terrible for Roe. He was playing so well. It's just not fair," said Parnevik, who was at 15-over par. "It's a dumb mistake but it shouldn't be the end of the tournament."

Said chairman of the R&A’s Championship Committee David Pepper: "I think sometimes the punishment might appear too harsh, but one has to sit down and write a set of rules and you have to abide by those rules."

Despite the incident, Roe said he will take great memories from Saturday's round.

"I learned alot about myself. I'm playing well again. I enjoyed the crowds. I enjoyed the attention. It was a real thrill. And I'm going to think about that rather than the disqualification," he said.

[TomB]

I watched Roe's press conference after he was DQed and I've never seen a more class act than Mark Roe. He took full responsibility and even joked that Jesper Parnevik's slacks momentarily confused him and that's why he screwed up.

Since it was only the names that were screwed up, its a shame they couldn't have just let them make a change.

Sometimes golf can be so freaking anal.

[OldFriend]

The nerve of anyone to expect the rules to be followed!

[FlJoePa]

It's a tough lesson to learn, but none worth learning are easy, are they?

At this level, golf is played by gentlemen who call their own penalties, with very few exceptions, and accept their consequences. Roe's taking full responsibility doesn't surprise me at all.

Can't you see Shaq calling travelling on himself (as he takes 5 steps towards the hoop) in the last minute of the NBA Finals? Neither can I.

[FlJoePa]

One more thing - Parnevik is a friggin' lampshade.

[Bob]

The nerve of anyone to expect the rules to be followed!

It's too bad that the rules don't contain some provision for rectifying correctable unintentional violations.

Assessing a stroke penalty for an error such as this, with a DQ reserved for intentional violations might be appropriate.

[Old Professer]

This is why the sports pages of my newspaper are all virgins when they perish.

[Neanderthal]

Calling Roberto De Viscenzo.

[TomB]

The nerve of anyone to expect the rules to be followed!

Nowhere did I suggest that the rules shouldn't be followed. However, it does seem that, since an advantage wasn't gained, the penalty was a bit excessive. Even the chairman of the R&A’s Championship Committee agreed.

But the main purpose of this post was to bring the exemplary behavior of Mark Roe to light. He deserves much credit.

[SchuylerTheViking]

As I watched the coverage today, I heard that the officials could have made a ruling throwing out the disqualifications, but they chose not to. Since clearly, no cheating was involved, I would have left it up to a player vote as to whether to allow the players to continue. This Roe guy is not a household name and this would have been a very nice payday for him. It doesn't seem right to strip him of a nice finish (if not win) and possibly exemptions because of an innocent mistake that officials have noticed and corrected in the past before it was too late.

[deport]

Another group did the same thing but caught it just before they turned the cards in.... thus rectifying the situation... I can't remember who they where but in an interview on the Golf Channel one of them was talking about being in the scorers hut completing their cards when the disqualification of Roe and Parnevik was announced.

[ThreePuttinDude]

Said chairman of the R&A’s Championship Committee David Pepper: "I think sometimes the punishment might appear too harsh, but one has to sit down and write a set of rules and you have to abide by those rules." _________________________________________________________

Tell that to the Torch in New Jersey. Im sure he'll listen..

[yooper]

You know what? I'm a golfer. As such I realize that it is a gentleman's game, a game of honor where you keep your own score and all that. This may come as a surprise to many non-golfer's, but oftentimes a man's honor is judged by how he acts on the golf course. Bill Clinton is a well known cheater at golf; he has no honor. That's no surprise.

Roe upheld the standards of honor today with his admirable actions following the foul-up, but the fact that he got screwed makes me wonder if we aren't carrying this thing a bit far. Untold numbers watched his game. Many could testify to his score. But because he wasn't watching out for technicalities he gets screwed. And this isn't the first time this has happened to someone. I think that sucks, and yet, I'm glad there is at least one entity which still believes in following the rules....

[TomB]

Roe upheld the standards of honor today with his admirable actions following the foul-up, but the fact that he got screwed makes me wonder if we aren't carrying this thing a bit far. Untold numbers watched his game. Many could testify to his score. But because he wasn't watching out for technicalities he gets screwed. And this isn't the first time this has happened to someone. I think that sucks, and yet, I'm glad there is at least one entity which still believes in following the rules....

Excellent post. You sum up my misgivings exactly. It just doesn't seem the punishment fits the crime. Actually, I've never understood the excessive sensitivity over the scorecards anyway. It isn't like you can't check the scores on most tourneys.

Do you recall the tournament where someone either lost a stroke(s) or was DQed after the king of anal-retentive-couch-potato-rule-book-memorizing golfers saw him do something (I don't remember what) on TV and called the infraction into the tournament. I wanted to find that guy and beat him with the golfer's nine iron. (I'd have used the fairway wood, but I can't hit a fairway wood.) ;-)

Does anybody remember that situation?

[deport]

Do you recall the tournament where someone either lost a stroke(s) or was DQed after the king of anal-retentive-couch-potato-rule-book-memorizing golfers saw him do something (I don't remember what) on TV and called the infraction into the tournament.

---

That's happened more than once.... You maybe thinking of Craig Statler when he put a towel down where he was going to get on his knees to hit his ball which was up under some tree limbs.... He was penalized for building a stance. I don't remember but think he was DQed for it...

The wrong score cards at the British Open today almost happened to Stuart Appleby and Phillip Price about an hour after Roe and Parnevik. They forget to swap on #1. Appleby noticed it after they were in the scorer's hut preparing to turn them in and they were able to correct things before turning them in.

[proxy_user]

I don't think Stadler was DQ'd--someone pointed out the violation before he turned in his score card.

His purpose in putting down the towel was to avoid staining his trousers. Had he removed his trousers, he could have achieved the same result without violating any rule. But I'm sure both the spectators and the PGA would have been very upset....

[Mr. Mojo]

The tournament officials had discretion in this case, and decided to deal the harshest of blows (considering that Roe was set for a major payday, and probably struggles to put bread on the table). There was no cheating; Roe's mistake was merely an oversight. Penalizing him a couple of strokes would seem like the appropriate punishment. Disqualification seems excessive, and ridiculous.

[Moonman62]

It just doesn't seem the punishment fits the crime.

No, but those potentially harsh penalties add an extra degree of difficulty to tournament golf, especially when it comes to nerves and concentration, and that usually produces the best champion. Making the rules more wishy washy would invite lawsuits and could delay determining a winner like the 2000 elections.

[Moonman62]

His purpose in putting down the towel was to avoid staining his trousers.

And I remember when Payne Stewart got nailed for not taking complete relief from a cart path. That was harsh.

[discostu]

I've always thought the score card rule was unnecessarily cruel... but that's why I like it.

[TomB]

I've always thought the score card rule was unnecessarily cruel... but that's why I like it.

That sounds like you. ;-)