Another major mistake in golf

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. – The cup was in the wrong place and it was too late for the PGA of America to change it.

The location sheet for Friday’s second round of the PGA Championship, provided to players to let them know where the pins will be that day, said the hole on No. 10 was on the left side of the green. Somehow it was actually on the right side, and the error wasn’t caught until the first group of the day off No. 10 had already hit their second shots into the green.

The PGA Rules Committee decided the hole would remain where it was for the rest of the second round, and new location sheets were given to the players.

PGA Chief Championships Officer Kerry Haigh met with the players in the first group – Colt Knost, Joe Summerhays and Yuta Ikeda – after they signed their cards to offer an explanation and apologize. Summerhays parred the 460-yard par 4, Knost and Ikeda bogeyed it.

It was the second time this year a major golf organization was red-faced over running a tournament.

At the U.S. Open at Oakmont, Dustin Johnson had to play the final seven holes without knowing his score. His ball moved slightly on the fifth green, and after the USGA reviewed it on video, officials told Johnson on the 12th tee he might get a one-shot penalty. They told him he could review it with them after the round – except that meant no one knew where Johnson stood over the final hour.

The USGA said a day later that while it stood by the ruling, it made a mistake in the way it was handled. Johnson made sure it didn’t matter: He was assessed a penalty and still won by three shots.

Knost was mindful of both mistakes when he tweeted his feelings after the round: “PGA trying its hardest to trump the USGA.”