Michael Brennan’s first round featured 18 holes of solid golf—70 strokes, 2-under, T-55 on the leaderboard. Then, PGA Tour Communications posted seven words that erased all of it: “breach of Model Local Rule G-11.” The 23-year-old was disqualified from the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open on Thursday evening for using non-permitted green-reading materials.

His scorecard vanished. His tournament ended before Round 2 began. The timing tells its own story. Brennan had already signed his card, left the North Course at Torrey Pines, and seen his name settle into a share of 55th place while Justin Rose posted a first-round 62 to lead. But things changed soon after.

Some time later, officials announced the disqualification, suggesting a post-round review rather than real-time detection. Whether Brennan self-reported or officials flagged the violation remains unclear, and the Tour has not specified. The specific materials he used remain undisclosed.

Interestingly, the Local Model Rule prevents players from using any green-reading material other than that provided by the PGA Tour. It also allows handwritten notes on yardage books and approved hole-location sheets, but with a specific clause.

The information gained can only come from the player’s experience or from watching a broadcast. Their caddie can also jot down information. So it is possible that Brennan unknowingly violated any of these provisions. It’s also possible he used a green-reading book, which is banned on the PGA Tour.

G-11’s penalty structure leaves no room for negotiation. First breach draws two strokes, and the second breach means disqualification. The penalties apply independently of Rule 4.3, so violations can compound quickly. The LMR is, however, relatively new and was introduced for a very particular purpose.

The LMR G-11 first came into play in January 2022. The PGA Tour claimed that players started using very detailed yardage books, which actually nullified the importance of green-reading skill. Rory McIlroy, a Player Advisory Council member at that time, said, “Honestly, I think it’s [detailed yardage books] made everyone lazier. People don’t put in the time to prepare the way they used to.”

The very same year, Alex Cjeka was disqualified from the PGA Tour Champions event, Regions Tradition, under this rule. Now, it has claimed its victim in a star who, just three months ago, was golf’s breakout story.

He won the Bank of Utah Championship last fall on a sponsor exemption, claiming his first PGA Tour title by four strokes and banking $1.08 million from the $6 million purse. That victory skipped him past the Korn Ferry Tour entirely and secured a two-year exemption. At 23, he reached the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking faster than Rory McIlroy—just over 60 weeks compared to McIlroy’s 70-plus.

The Farmers was his third start of the 2026 season. He missed the cut at the Sony Open and finished T-56 at The American Express. Now he carries a DQ next to his name, listed alongside withdrawals like Aaron Rai—present in the field one moment, absent the next. No public statement from Brennan or his team has surfaced.

Brennan is not the first to encounter G-11 enforcement at the elite level, and the rule’s philosophical underpinning explains why the Tour treats violations with zero tolerance.

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Why G-11 exists and how Collin Morikawa’s 2023 penalty set the precedent

Model Local Rule G-11 exists for a single purpose: to keep putting a skill of feel, not forensic mapping. Introduced by the USGA and R&A in 2021 and effective since 2022, the rule restricts players and caddies to committee-approved yardage books throughout the round.

Greens can only be depicted with minimal detail—major slopes, tiers, false edges. No subtle contours. No custom charts. The tension is philosophical. Technology can map every undulation on a putting surface. The governing bodies decided that reading greens should remain an earned skill, not a downloaded advantage.

Collin Morikawa tested that boundary at the 2023 Hero World Challenge. His caddie used a level on the practice putting green to gauge slope, then transferred that information to a chart in Morikawa’s yardage book. Fellow pro Matt Fitzpatrick alerted officials via text after the round, prompting the review. Morikawa received a two-stroke penalty—a first breach.

Brennan’s case escalated to disqualification. The difference between a penalty and an exit lies in that second breach threshold, and Brennan crossed it at Torrey Pines.

G-11 enforcement is procedural, not discretionary. The rule exists. The violation occurred. The consequence followed. What Brennan does with the remainder of his season will determine whether Thursday’s disqualification becomes a footnote or a pivot point in a career that was, until Thursday evening, rising faster than anyone expected.