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According to the rules of golf, players are asked to sign their scorecard at the end of their day’s play. While such a rule doesn’t seem to harm anyone, it has become the reason for controversy after American golfer, Kamaiu Johnson, was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. How have fans reacted to the bizarre report?

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What happened at the ninth hole of the Arnold Palmer Invitational?

The incident occurred on the PGA Tour’s weekend event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 29-year-old Kamaiu Johnson was battling for survival on Friday after shooting 3-over par in the first round. But drama unfolded on the ninth hole, where Johnson’s life was made difficult.

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The golfer was playing in a group that consisted of Nick Hardy and Kyle Westmoreland. Making a par, Hardy proceeded to the tenth hole, followed by Westmoreland, who made a bogey. However, Johnson struggled to put his ball in the cup, missing his 22-foot par putt.

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USA Today via Reuters

But if that wasn’t enough, he proceeded to miss the subsequent shots placed at 3 and 4 feet, respectively. It took him 7 strokes to find the hole, which was a triple-bogey on the par-4 hole.

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Strange expulsion at Arnold Palmer Invitational causes chaos

However, the score for the hole became a talking point later. The walking scorer found a discrepancy in the scores and sought out camera angles and first-hand details from fellow golfers. Johnson claimed he hit six strokes, while others claimed the number to be seven.

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Yet, an hour after the incident, the officials had video footage of Johnson taking seven shots on the ninth hole. Seen as a discrepancy, the 29-year-old was disqualified from the tournament, which became a talking point in the golf community.

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Several fans were furious with the golfer’s acts, with many claiming his career was over. Yet, there were no details offered by Johnson after his expulsion, with no claims of deliberation whatsoever.

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Some fans also clamored for the removal of the age-old rule, claiming that multiple camera angles and keen-eyed viewers have made it nearly impossible to cheat on a scorecard for its validation purpose. Here’s a selection of those tweets.

In any case, Johnson shot a disastrous five-over par, which all but confirmed his elimination from the event.

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Written by

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Sharan Nair

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Sharan Nair is a Senior Golf Writer at EssentiallySports. He constantly covers the ongoing PGA vs LIV Golf tussle as it progresses. With over 600 articles to his name, Sharan masters the sport with his in-depth knowledge and research that is reflected in his meticulous coverage of all the Majors. As an avid fan of Tiger Woods, Sharan firmly believes that Woods' 2019 Masters win was the greatest comeback in sports history. As a sports journalist, he aspires to one day sit down for an interview with the golf great himself. In his free time, Sharan loads up on some good golf reads; his favorite being 'The Glorious World Of Golf' by Peter Dobereiner.

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Manaal Siddiqui

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