College Golfer Calls DQ on Himself After Setting Course Record at U.S. Open Qualifier

University of Illinois golfer Tommy Kuhl shot the round of his life, then realized he broke the rules of golf while doing so.

University of Illinois fifth-year senior Tommy Kuhl had a dream round in a U.S. Open local qualifier on Monday, until a self-reported rules infraction caused his major championship hopes to quickly come crashing down.

Kuhl, a two-time All-Big Ten player, broke the course record with a 62 at the Illini Country Club qualifier in Springfield, Ill., a score which would not only cement his name in the club’s history, but bring him one step closer to competing at Los Angeles Country Club come June.  

Kuhl would have easily made it through to Final Qualifying, which consists of a grueling day of 36 holes at 13 venues around the country. The next-best scores from the Illini qualifier were a 64 and a pair of 66s and 67s.

The college golfer’s stunningly low round was all the more impressive as it was shot on aerated greens—which is unfortunately what provoked his rules violation.

According to Ryan French, who first reported the incident on Twitter, Kuhl was talking to a fellow University of Illinois teammate about the less-than-ideal conditions on the greens when he realized he had made a major mistake. Kuhl had been repairing aeration marks on the putting surfaces throughout the entire round, which is against the Rules of Golf unless a local rule in enacted. 

“I felt sick to my stomach,” Kuhl said to French. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t tell the rules official.”

Recent changes to the Rules of Golf allow players to fix spike marks and other damages to the greens (such as ball marks), but aeration holes are listed as a specific exception to this rule. 

Considering the infraction, Kuhl had technically signed an incorrect scorecard. Soon after the realization, he approached the tournament rules official and disqualified himself. 

Although Kuhl’s U.S. Open hopes are over—at least for this year—his honorable decision to call a DQ on himself has gone viral on social media, with golfers from across the world praising his honesty and maturity in an unfortunate situation.