Monday Mistakes

Four players were able to sign up for a PGA Tour Monday qualifier who weren't eligible because of a clerical error by the Utah PGA section. After multiple other players who had to pre-qualify found out and complained, it was understood the players would be removed from the Monday qualifier. Later, the four were re-entered into the Monday qualifier after the PGA Tour consulted their legal department. 

PGA Tour Monday qualifiers aren't open to any player (Korn Ferry Mondays are). In order to skip a pre-qualifier for a PGA Tour Monday, a player must meet one of the eligibility requirements set forth by the PGA Tour: current PGA Tour and KFT members, and non-members who have made a cut on the PGA Tour in the current season. The eligibility requirements are widely known among almost all pros. 

The confusion started early last week when multiple players noticed that RJ Manke, Chris Korte, John Sands, and Riley Lewis were all listed in the Monday qualifier field. The four weren't eligible to skip the pre-qualifier, but because of an error by the Utah PGA Section, the four were able to sign up directly for the Monday. "It was a clerical error by our tournament director," Utah PGA Section Devin Dhelin told me Sunday. "It is our first PGA Tour Monday, and he just made an error. He has done hundreds of tournaments without an issue. He just missed this one." 

There were a total of three pre-qualifiers held for the Black Desert Championship, a new event on PGA Tour’s Fall schedule. The first Pre-Q was held last Tuesday, and according to multiple players I spoke with, that was when the issue was brought to the section's attention for the first time. On Wednesday, one player followed up with an email inquiring about how the four skipped the pre-qualifier. Utah PGA Tournament Director Aaron Goodman responded, "If they are on the player list, they were approved and must have qualified with another exemption." 

On top of that, Korte, one of the four players who was able to sign up for the Monday, called the section to confirm it was accurate. Korte said in a message to me he was also signed up for the pre-qualifier and the section not only confirmed he was in the Monday field, but also refunded his pre-qualifier entry fee. 

According to Dehlin, on Thursday, he received a call from another PGA section executive who alerted him of the issues with the four players. Devin said it was the first time he had heard of the issues and began looking into it. It didn’t take long to confirm that the four players were mistakenly allowed to skip the pre-qualifier. Dehlin asked Goodman if the players were local, hoping they could make the afternoon wave of that day's pre-qualifier. 

The players weren't local, so the section's tournament staff met and decided the four would be refunded their entry fee and removed from the Monday qualifier. The section called the players to inform them of their decision. According to Devin, three of the players were understanding of the decision, and one was frustrated. 

Soon after calling the players to inform them they were being removed, the section received a call from the PGA Tour. One of the four players called the Tour to discuss the circumstances of being removed from the Monday.  According to Dehlin, the player asked the Tour to be reimbursed for his travel expenses. After discussing the situation with Dehlin the Tour said they would consult with their legal department and get back to the section with a final decision. 

The Tour then returned Dehlin’s call and informed him that after consulting with the legal department, the players should be allowed back into the Monday qualifier. According to Korte the calls removing him from the field and getting back in the field came within 30 minutes of each other. 

This decision left other players, who spent thousands of dollars to pre-qualify, frustrated with both the section and the players who skirted the eligibility requirements. 

Dehlin echoed the same thoughts. "It was our fault,” he said. “We made a clerical error, and we take full responsibility, but every player knows the requirements to skip the pre-qualifier." Although, according to Korte, he did reach out via phone to confirm his place in the Monday field. 

One player in the Monday field said, “If any of them get through, the Tour will be getting another phone call.” 

The PGA Tour confirmed the scenario and their response via a phone call. The four will play for a spot in the Black Desert Championship later today.

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