Golfer DQ'd from US Amateur as caddie uses slope function of DMD!
Caddie mistake costs Chris Crawford a chance of championship.
American golfer Chris Crawford was all set to make to the cut in his fifth US Amateur start on Tuesday. That was until his caddie used a slope function on his distance measuring device, a violation of Rule 14-3.
Crawford alerted a rules official of his caddie's mistake on the 11th, which would have normally resulted in a penalty of two strokes. But once it was discovered that his caddie had used the function multiple times during the round, Crawford was disqualified.
At 1-over for the tournament and 2-under through 11 holes of his second round, Crawford was well on track to make the match play portion of the US Amateur with the cut eventually falling at 4-over.
"I was a little flustered and knew something was wrong," Crawford told ESPN's Bob Harig.
"I asked my caddie what the deal was with his range finder. When he said it had a slope adjustment, I knew instantly that I had to disqualify myself.
"I notified the walking scorer in my group, and after getting in touch with a rules official I learned it would have been a two-shot penalty if I had used it just once, but the second time is a disqualification. I have my own range finder and I know the rule, but I didn't think his would have that.
"I didn’t gain an advantage, but I know the Rules. I knew what the rule was and I didn’t have a choice."