Golf ball mix-up causes chaos in college golf event
Georgia men rue costly golf ball mistake at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational
Georgia men's golf team were left to rue a costly golf ball mix-up during Monday's first round of the inaugural 54-hole Blessings Collegiate Invitational in Arkansas.
With the coronavirus pandemic forcing all 14 teams to play together with all five golfers per team competing on the same hole, chaos ensued for the Georgia team with all five balls featuring the same college logo.
Head coach Chris Haack explained during an on-course interview that both Will Chandler and Davis Thompson, who both performed well in the first round of the US Open recently, had played the wrong ball.
"We had two guys hit the wrong ball," Haack told Golf Channel. "We're coming off playing the hole before that at 5-under par, and we've got five guys all in the fairway looking good.
"Get up to the green and realise two of the guys had hit the wrong ball. Lesson learned there. It's kind of like running the ball into the end zone and dropping it two yards before you get in there."
As a result of their mistake, both players recorded a double bogey, resulting in a four-stroke swing for the team in the wrong direction.
Playing the wrong golf ball results in loss of hole in match play and a two-stroke penalty in stroke play.
Georgia would go on to slip down to 13th at 17-over par, well behind runaway leaders Tennessee on 8-under par.
The 54-hole tournament comprises of teams of five counting their best four scores and both men's and women's teams are competing on the same course at the same time.
