Rules of golf: Pro disqualified for ‘serious misconduct’

At the World Wide Technology Championship, which took place from 7 to 10 November on the El Cardonal at Diamante golf course, Emilio Gonzalez from Mexico was disqualified after his second round due to ‘serious misconduct’.

According to golf.com, Gonzalez hit his first ball into a desert area on hole 15 on Friday and then played a provisional ball. He began searching for the first ball, and within three minutes a ball was found in the area in question. However, Gonzalez did not identify it and instead continued to play with the provisional ball. This behaviour violated Rule 18.3c (3), which states:

‘If the provisional ball has not become the ball in play and a ball is found that might be the original ball, the player must make all reasonable efforts to identify that ball. If the player fails to do so, the Committee may disqualify the player under Rule 1.2a if it decides that this was serious misconduct contrary to the spirit of the game.’

As Gonzalez had not made a ‘reasonable effort’ to identify his ball, according to the rules officer, he was disqualified.

Rules of golf: The found ball must be identified

The rules also state that the player may ask his teammates not to look for the original ball. However, they are not obliged to honour this request. If a ball is found, the player must identify it immediately (Rule 18.2a (1)). If the ball found is the original ball, it is in play and must be continued. The provisional ball is now considered to be the wrong ball and may no longer be played. According to Rule 6.3c, playing the wrong ball leads to the basic penalty of two strokes and must be corrected immediately, otherwise the player is disqualified.

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Rules of golf: Pro disqualified for ‘serious misconduct’

On the PGA Tour, Emilio Gonzalez was disqualified for not trying hard enough to identify his first ball. This is what the rules of golf say.

Rules of golf: The found ball must be identified