Golfer Disqualified After Peculiar Rangefinder Incident

There was an unusual incident on the APT Tour when Brett White was disqualified after accidentally flipping on the slope setting on his rangefinder.

Golfer Disqualified After Peculiar Rangefinder Incident

White, who plays on the All Pro Tour, had started the final round just four shots back of leader Hayden Wood, and only two back of his other playing partner Zach Bauchou.

However, during the final round, Wood noticed that White had the slope flipped on his rangefinder. Taking a picture of it, Wood then called over a rules official.

It turned out that White had accidentally flipped it on and had used it twice. The end result was a disqualification as it was a violation of Rule 4.3 of the Rules of Golf, which states that “measuring elevation changes” is not allowed.

The All Pro Tour tweeted: “Due to multiple accidental breaches of Rule 4.3a(1), measuring elevation changes from a distance measuring device, Brett White was disqualified from the Colbert Charity Classic during play of the final round.”

Related: Best Golf Laser Rangefinders

With $23,000 going to the winner, White was obviously distraught over the incident, with APT host, Hagan Parkman saying on Twitter: "This will be my 1 & only comment about the instance today: it was a set of circumstances that created a perfect storm. They're both extremely solid guys who didn't have ill intentions on either side. It sucked for everyone involved If you weren't there- please have grace in this."

White also responded to the incident, tweeting: "On the 3rd tee box during round 4 my playing partners noticed my rangefinder clicked on slope mode. I did not notice it was on until after my fourth shot. While it was a complete accident, intent in this situation does not matter and I was DQ’d. Tough pill to swallow.”

In the end it was Wood who claimed the $23,000 winners cheque, with Kyle Gaines finishing second and picking up $9,700.