He called it a “muppet move.”
And a “rookie error.”
And a “proper brain meltdown.”
Scott Hend was honest in the moment. And he was honest in describing it all, too.
To begin, the longtime pro was playing the Asian Tour’s DGC Open, shot a one-over 73 in the first round and was disqualified in the second. And typically, DQs are listed without cause; just a D and a Q on the leaderboard. But Hend came clean.
Across three tweets on Friday, he said he had taken a wrong drop at Delhi Golf Club. Then, over several more tweets, he responded to some jabs.
The confession, as written by Hend:
“For those wondering why I was DQ’d today in India….. Well, I hit a ball out of a bunker on the 18th, ball was lost, I then went back dropped a ball within a club length of the original place. Walking down the fairway after play’n the shot I wondered if I dropped in a
“incorrect postion….. well YES I did, I should have dropped back in the bunker. I called this upon Myself. YES I was going to miss the cut anyways… But I’d rather play by the rules even if I was or wasn’t missing the cut. Even old Tour Pro’s make a mistake sometimes. #GolfLife
“Dropping within 1 club length doesn’t mean I could drop on the grass outside the bunker…. I had to drop back in the bunker. Muppet move on my behalf. Rookie error for sure. Energy level at -5 at that stage. Onwards and upwards. #JustSayn #GolfLife #ItsOnMe”
Rules Guy: Does your putting stroke *have* to include a backswing?
Tough one. To review the rules in play, Hend needed to have played where he originally hit, as noted in Rule 18.2b. And the DQ? Rule 14.7b — entitled “How to Complete a Hole after Playing from Wrong Place in Stroke Play” — is written this way:
“What a player does next depends on whether it was a serious breach – that is, whether the player could have gained a significant advantage by playing from a wrong place: Not a Serious Breach. The player must play out the hole with the ball played from a wrong place, without correcting the mistake. Serious Breach. The player must correct the mistake by playing out the hole with a ball played from a right place under the Rules.
“If the player does not correct the mistake before making a stroke to begin another hole or, for the final hole of the round, before returning his or her scorecard, the player is disqualified.”
And Hend was done, though, as he wrote, he would have missed the cut anyway. He then logged on.
Some of the Twitter back-and-forth — which went on for seven hours — as written by Hend and a few commenters:
Joy Chakravarty: “Proud of you Hendy! To call it upon yourself, and also for playing through all your physical ailment. You remain a true professional.”
Hend: “I had a proper brain meltdown taking that drop where I did….. Only thing I could do once I was walking down the fairway thinking about it….. DGC has got Me again.”
Rules Guy: Can you still take relief from a stance on the cart path if your ball is in a penalty area?
Chris Case: “I can’t believe people are praising this? I liked Muppet Move…..You were gonna miss the cut and wanted to get the hell outta there!”
Hend: “Well Chris…. I had finished out the hole… YET… Unlike many, I like to leave the Course with a clear conscience, I thought I had broken a rule…. So that being the case irrespective of MISSING the CUT or not. I called the Referee and DQ’d Myself. I feel at ease:”
Chris Case: “You are skating the issue. Having known who you are for 25 years and followed you on Twitter, I think that you are smarter than that to replay that shot outside the bunker. U knew it was gonna plug and you weren’t gonna hack it up the fairway with the club in ur hand, U were done”
Hend: “Chris I genuinely went and measured out 1 club length from where the ball was in the bunker, then took a drop, was within that club length which happen to be just outside the bunker. This was done on my behalf stupidly. I was frazzled from being ill out there. I made a mistake.”
Chris Case: “I don’t know…I really cannot see a professional doing that, but I genuinely hope that you physically feel better and glad ur at peace with this. I just can’t believe that someone would praise such event, that’s all. Have a great season, I’ll be following.”
Marty Hoey: “What is your angle here? He has DQ’d himself. What else should he have done? Your above guess of what might have happened was just that, a guess. Even if it was a plugged ball it would have added one additional shot so not sure how you reckon he would have “hacked it up”
Rules Guy: What’s the legal way to remove loose impediments like pebbles or gravel?
Chris Case: “No angle. As I said,I am just surprised people are praising this. It is common sense to a veteran pro that you can’t drop out of a bunker,forget a poor interpretation of the rule. He made a bonehead move. Let’s call a [spade emoji] a spade Praise for DQing self when he knew he was cut? Na”
Hend: “Chris, I’m really not sure what U r angry about here…. Is it I DQ’d myself and didn’t let it slide and let someone else pull Me up? Is it people actually like being informed? Is it people actually liking someone being honest when they didn’t have to be? I’m not sur”
Chris Case: “Promise I am not angry Scott. I am amused actually at all of the people praising your heroic act of DQing urself after thinking(or knowingly) taking such a stupid drop.I know a lot of people that play competitive golf and I can’t see any of them thinking they could take that drop”
Hend: “Nice to know U have NEVER made a mistake whilst feeling s**thouse… Also if one isn’t to correct a mistake after making it….. Well there is NO hope for that person.”
