2 players sneak into PGA Tour field after clerical error sparks controversy
A controversy is brewing at the PGA Tour's Black Desert Championship.
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The PGA Tour field for this week’s inaugural Black Desert Championship in Utah features a combination of Tour stars and pros trying to improve their status for 2025. It also features something else: two players who have no business being in the field in the first place.
The bizarre story was uncovered by Ryan French of Monday Q Info.
First, some background to better understand the wild series of events. Most regular PGA Tour events feature a Monday qualifier tournament, in which players not already qualified for the event compete in a one-round competition for a limited number of spots in the field.
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There are several exemption categories for Monday qualifiers. For example, any member of the PGA, Korn Ferry, of PGA Tour Champions circuits can automatically enter any Monday qualifier. But those who are not exempt must play in a pre-qualifier event to earn their spot in the Monday qualifier.
As French reports for Monday Q Info, four players were listed on the field sheet for this week’s Black Desert Championship who were not exempt and had skipped the pre-qualifier events, which cost thousands of dollars to enter. Their names are RJ Manke, Chris Korte, John Sand and Riley Lewis.
After investigating the issue, French was told by Devin Dhelin of the Utah PGA that the players got into the field due to a clerical error.
“It is our first PGA Tour Monday, and he just made an error,” Dhelin told French. “He has done hundreds of tournaments without an issue. He just missed this one.”
After other competitors questioned the inclusion of the four players, tournament officials communicated with those players, removed them from the Black Desert Monday qualifier field and refunded their entry fees.
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But the story doesn’t stop there.
Shortly thereafter, the PGA Tour got wind of the issue and discussed it with their legal department, and the Tour came up with a surprising decision: All four players would be allowed to play the Monday qualifier.
And just like that, they were back in the field.
The Monday qualifier went ahead as scheduled on Monday, and, incredibly, two of the four players who should not have been in the field, Korte and Sand, shot eight-under 64s to earn their spots in the Black Desert Championship, along with two other players who were correctly qualified to compete in the Monday qualifier.
Tee times for the first and second rounds will likely be released Tuesday evening, and unless the PGA Tour finds a solution to the situation before then, Korte and Sand should be listed alongside the rest of the field. (UPDATE: Korte is scheduled to tee off at 11:19 a.m. ET on Thursday, while Sand has an 11:35 a.m. ET tee time.)
You can read French’s full report on the bizarre situation here.
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