Four golfers ineligible to play PGA Tour event allowed in due to 'clerical error'

There were some unexpected faces at Monday’s qualifying event for the Black Desert Championship in what has proved an embarrassing development for the PGA Tour. The inaugural event in Utah gets underway this Thursday, and will signify the first professional tour event at the venue since 1963.

But the build-up to the tournament has been overshadowed by a blunder from organisers, after it emerged four players were allowed to sign up for qualifying despite being technically ineligible.

And to exacerbate the issue two of them, Chris Korte and John Sand, came through it to book their place in the main event, with the PGA now powerless to stop them competing. 

Along with Korte and Sand, Riley Lewis and RJ Manke were able to sign up for the qualifier at Sand Hollow because of what the Utah PGA section later described as a “clerical error.” None of the quartet met the criteria to enter, which is confined to PGA Tour members, Korn Ferry Tour members, PGA Tour Champions regular members, and DP World Tour members.

Also eligible were players who competed in the preceding week’s PGA Tour event, had made at least one PGA Tour in the current season, or are ranked in the top 100 of the OGWR LIST. Therefore, the four men central to the controversy should have had to come through a pre-qualifying event first, but Manke has since explained the bizarre development.

The American was able to sign up via the PGA website, and admitted he was initially surprised when noticing he could book a place in qualifying. “I am and was well aware of what the typical Monday Q exemptions categories are,” he told the Golf Channel.

“I just thought that this one was different because it was a new tournament or for whatever reason. I saw that I had this opportunity to skip the pre-q and of course wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to have the chance to play in a tour event.”

Officials only realised the error when a host of players who had to pre-qualify noticed their inclusion and sent in complaints. Initially, the quartet were removed from qualifying, but then reinstated after discussions between Utah PGA and their legal department.

“There was no struggle between myself and any of the Utah PGA or PGA Tour,” added Manke. “If they had told us earlier and explained that it was an honest mistake, I would’ve been fine playing the pre-q event.”

Manke also said there was “no animosity” from fellow competitors, but Utah PGA Executive Director Devin Dehlin was left with little choice but to publicly admit there had been a mistake. He did also insist however, that players were fully aware of eligibility rules.

"It was our fault,” he stated. “We made a clerical error, and we take full responsibility for it. But every player already knows the requirements to skip the pre-qualifier."