In 2001, Ian Woosnam had a one-shot lead when he nearly made an ace on the 1st in R4. He was excited, and he was happy. But as he walked toward the 2nd, caddie Miles Byrne let him know that he’d made a mistake. He had packed an extra club in the bag, exceeding the limit of 14 clubs, and Woosnam incurred a two-shot penalty. Disgusted, he tossed one of the drivers and eventually finished third. The Open, unfortunately, is riddled with such controversies.

1. R&A’s pandemic protocols don’t sit well with the pros

This is perhaps the most recent incident on this list. Following the cancellation of The Open in 2020 due to COVID-19, the R&A implemented additional rules for the 2021 edition. For instance, the golfers were not allowed to visit pubs, restaurants, or even supermarkets. They were also asked to stay in approved hotels and only four members were allowed in their team.

R&A chief executive Mark Slumbers stated, as per the Guardian, “It’s not us creating the rules; it’s the UK law. I expect the players to react and deal with that in a professional, responsible way.” He stated that players would be disqualified if they broke any of these rules; similarly, players said that they were thinking of skipping the tournament altogether. The R&A knew it would create some problems.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

Under Which Golf Rule Was Bryson DeChambeau Penalized for Improving His Lie?

Rule 8.1 Rule 4.1b Rule 16.1 Rule 14.7b

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

PLAY GOLF TRIVIA

And it did.

An unnamed golfer in a Golfweek interview stated, for instance, “But I certainly thought about not going. I just can’t believe with the numerous examples of successfully run safely held tournaments and majors here that they can’t figure out a better situation.”

“Don’t be surprised if some eligible players say f*** it and don’t play,” an anonymous pro was quoted as saying in a Golf Digest article.

Even Rickie Fowler said, “It seems like us as players, we’re jumping through some hurdles and dodging bullets, and they’re having 32,000 fans a day at the tournament, so I don’t know. I can’t really answer questions clearly with all that going on.”

Slumbers, meanwhile, insisted that the case was different for the 32,000 fans present there. Hideki Matsuyama, Zach Johnson, and Bubba Watson tested positive and pulled out. The tournament went on, and Collin Morikawa lifted the Claret Jug.

2. Mark Roe’s near-Cinderella run ends with an incorrect scorecard

The 2003 Open Championship was Mark Roe’s 14th major appearance, yet he had never seriously come close to contending until that week. Saturday was a good day for him when he shot a 67 to match Nick Faldo’s low score. By the end of the round, he was just three shots adrift of the leader, Thomas Bjorn. He had an opportunity to strike back the next morning and finally collect the biggest win of his career.

Instead, his playing partner, Jesper Parnevik, realized too late that both signed incorrect scorecards. After the post-round media interaction, Parnevik approached Roe and informed him that they failed to exchange their scorecards after the round. Meaning Roe signed Parnevik’s scorecard and vice versa.

Under the then-existing Rule 6-6D, both of them were disqualified. After Ben Curtis won, Roe said, according to Golf Digest, “I’m not ashamed to say that I went upstairs, sat on my own, and shed a tear because I thought I missed out on something that day.”

The R&A eventually changed the rule to avoid these kinds of mistakes. The governing body said tournament committees could treat clerical mistakes as valid when the correct scores had been entered on the wrong card.

3. David Robertson gets banned for 20 years for cheating

During the 1985 Open qualifying, the then 28-year-old David Robertson was found guilty of cheating. Robertson was accused of improving his lie at least five times to gain an unfair advantage, sometimes moving the ball as much as 10 feet. And it was hard not to catch him in the act with his own caddie, Paul Connolly, being the primary witness of this cheating.

It is not known whether Connolly warned him against it during the round itself, but unable to witness the cheating anymore in the first nine holes, he quit. “I walked off because I couldn’t stand what I was seeing,” Connolly, then a 20-year-old kid, was quoted as saying in a report by the Daily Mail. 

Eventually, Robertson, who was a former British Youth champion, had to hire a different caddie for the rest of his round. However, just five holes later, on the 14th, the officials disqualified him.

Following further investigation, officials handed him a 20-year ban and an estimated fine of $7,000 (£5,219). Robertson challenged the ban, but ultimately could not prove his innocence.

Worsening the matter was Robertson was penalized before improperly marking his ball and signing an incorrect scorecard. In 1977, his American playing partner accused him of dropping a second ball in the rough instead of playing his own at the Portuguese Open. So Robertson was no stranger to controversies, and when he regained his amateur status seven years later, public opinion had already shifted against him.

It is something that most pros take very seriously as well. Like that time when Shane Lowry faced a two-shot penalty at The Open, but accepted it without argument because, “I had to take the penalty because … I can’t have my name talked about or tossed around like that, and I just get on with it.” Reputation is really that important in golf.

And this ends our list of the most controversial Open Championship moments.