Jang Yu-bin broke down in tears after being disqualified from the KPGA Tour Championship — the season's final event — for submitting an incorrect scorecard.
Jang carded a 4-under-par 68 in the second round Friday at Teddy Valley Golf and Resort's Valley and Teddy courses (par 72) in Seogwipo, Jeju. An error on his submitted scorecard, however, resulted in disqualification.
The problem involved holes 17 and 18. Starting from the 10th hole, Jang made a bogey 4 on the par-3 17th but wrote down 3 on his card. On the par-4 18th, he made a birdie 3 but recorded it as 4. The combined total for the two holes — 7 strokes — matched his actual score, but the individual hole scores were transposed. Song Min-hyuk was his marker.
Under Rule 3.3b(3) of the Rules of Golf, a player is disqualified if the score recorded for any hole is lower than the actual score. If the recorded score is higher, that higher score stands. Even though the two-hole total was correct, recording one fewer stroke than actually taken on the 17th was grounds for disqualification. The rules require an accurate score for each individual hole, not just the overall total.
Jang realized the error and attempted to correct the card, but more than 15 minutes had passed since submission and the correction was not accepted. He had completed scorecard submission at 4:27 p.m. and returned to the scoring tent at 4:54 p.m., 27 minutes later. He wept, leaving those around him heartbroken.
His anguish was understandable. Jang had entered the tournament second in the Genesis Points standings with 5,136.75 points, trailing leader Shin Sang-hun (5,339.01 points) by 202.26 points — a gap narrow enough that a strong finish could have handed him the Genesis Award. The disqualification left him unable to add any points, ending any chance of overtaking Shin.
With it went the prizes that come with the Genesis Award title. This year's winner receives a 200 million won ($149,000) bonus, a Genesis vehicle, an invitation to the Genesis Scottish Open, direct entry to the final stage of PGA Tour Q-School, a five-year KPGA Tour card and a one-year DP World Tour card. The overseas playing opportunities in particular are likely what brought Jang to tears.
His path to the PGA Tour is not entirely closed, however. Jang had already secured direct entry to the second stage of Q-School qualifying, awarded to the top five players in the Genesis Points standings as of late September. If he can channel this setback into renewed determination, he may yet finish the year on a high note.
Meanwhile, Hwang Jae-min fired a 6-under-par 66 to take the halfway lead at 6-under 138, two strokes clear of second-place Jeong Jae-hyeon. Hwang had built a four-shot lead through the 13th hole with an eagle and six birdies, but bogeys on the par-3 14th and 17th holes trimmed his advantage to two heading into moving day.
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