ORLANDO – The record will show Kamaiu Johnson disqualified from the Arnold Palmer Invitational. This will only be a minor footnote in the history of Arnie’s Place’s annual PGA Tour stop, but it will have a significant impact on Johnson’s reputation. It will also affect how long it will stay with him.
Johnson, 29 years old, was found to be in violation of Rule 3.3.3b. This means that he signed an inaccurate scorecard.
Johnson’s account of the events shows that Johnson made a double-bogey 6 at the par-4 9th hole on Friday, and not a seven. He was shooting 5-over 77 at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, missing the cut by six strokes.
Ryan French, AKA MondayQ Info on Twitter reported that Johnson informed Kyle Westmoreland on the 10 th Tee that he had made sixes, but that score was later questioned in the scoring tent.
Golfweek Westmoreland stated that Johnson, who is primarily on APGA Tour, didn’t finish the hole as the group was running out of time. Nick Hardy, third player in the grouping, reportedly started to head towards the 10 th Tee and didn’t see Johnson finish after missing a 22-foot putt from the fringe.
After his third round, Westmoreland stated that “We were on time so I walked away.” “I assumed that he made the one after it was missed.”
ShotLink data shows Johnson missed the par-putt at 22 1/2 feet. He then missed putts of three, four and five feet for double bogey. Finally, Johnson hit a 20 inch putt for his 7.
The disputed score was resolved by Orlando Pope, a Tour rules official. The group’s walking scorer confirmed Johnson’s triple-bogey 7, as did a ShotLink official who used video around the green to show visual proof of the putts. Johnson would have missed by six strokes and has not made the cut in five career starts.
Westmoreland stated, “It happens, it seems,” It doesn’t really matter. He missed the cut. It’s not a great look for some people but it’s something I can’t comment on. It was not a factor. It was handled well by the Tour.
Johnson apologized on Saturday via social media. He tweeted that he lost track of his score and said: “I take integrity of the game very seriously. I am sorry for this.” I was a bit overwhelmed by the crowd and forgot how many putts I missed from 3 feet. I will do better.
I take integrity of the game very seriously. I am sorry for this. I was a bit overwhelmed by the time and lost track of the number of missed putts at 3 feet. I will do better.
Kamaiu “My My”) Johnson (@KamaiuJohnson March 4, 2023
