Honesty … it’s refreshing to see it still exists in 2023.
Fifth-year senior at Illinois and two-time member of the All-Big Ten team Tommy Kuhl played in a US Open local qualifier where he shot a 62. Not only did Tommy Kuhl clinch a spot in sectional qualifying, he also shot the course record. But there was one little problem (well, big): Kuhl broke a rule, and disqualified himself for it.
Kuhl wasn’t aware that he broke a rule until he watched teammate Adrien Dumont De Chassart taking part in a playoff for the final spot. Another teammate commented on the aerated greens they were being played on, and that’s when Kuhl realized he broke a rule, according to MondayQ.
A golfer is allowed to fix “damage on the putting green,” however, that doesn’t include “Normal practices for maintaining the overall condition of the putting green (such as aeration holes and grooves from vertical mowing),” per Rule 13.
Kuhl says that he made “multiple” repairs while he was playing, and though it’s unlikely that anybody would have known that he broke a rule, Kuhl decided to keep it honest and told the rules official about what he did.
He was disqualified from the US Open local qualifier as a result. (RELATED: Tigers’ Akil Baddoo Getting Slammed In Groin With Baseball Leads To Wacky Play Made By Guardians’ Andrés Giménez)
“I felt sick to my stomach,” said Kuhl. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t tell the rules official.”
Class act from Tommy Kuhl but a tough way to end the day after shooting a course record in the US Open local qualifier https://t.co/0BV7arT26R
— Bret Beherns (@WCIA3Bret) May 9, 2023
Class act, for sure.