See the featured footage of the foul in the player above.
Qualifying for the PGA Tour changes a golfer’s future forever. In addition to getting the chance to play the biggest competitions, it also provides clearly more favorable conditions financially.
American Shad Tuten had been playing for a spot but was spotted after a seemingly small mistake – and lost the coveted ticket.
– It was an extremely traumatic experience for me and my family, he says to the podcast “Any Given Monday” and continues:
– People can steal from you but this is something I fought for my whole life and the problem is that it felt like I was doing everything according to the rulebook.
Critical of the judges: “I had to put myself there”
Immediately after the fifteenth hole, he was called in to the judges and told how he experienced the situation with the dropped ball. Tuten perceived the whole thing as the situation being acted out.
But later in the round he was called in again. The referees had now seen the film of the foul.
– They said I had to tell them exactly what happened on the fairway. Then and there I understood that everything I said would have consequences.
He is also critical of how the judges acted.
– I was forced to put myself there. A third party is supposed to have seen the event for it to apply.
Tuten has been a professional golfer since 2015 but now has to wait a while longer before debuting on the PGA Tour.