PGA Tour Pro Reveals Fellow Player Took Two Stroke Penalty For Cart Ride

Anyone who has played in searing heat will know how punishing it can be to play a round, particularly over the last few holes.

Of course, there are measures you can take to combat the issue, like knowing what to drink during a round of golf, wearing appropriate headwear and applying liberal dollops of sunscreen as you go.

However, according to PGA Tour pro Michael Kim, one player took things even further to escape the toil of trudging across the course beneath the beating sun.

Kim took to X (formerly Twitter) and began describing the incident in question, writing: “Hot summer story I’ve heard: A while back, a player was playing well on Friday and was at 3 under par. It was a VERY hot afternoon and the walk from 15 green to 16th tee box was far and up a really big hill. He sees a rules official and calls him…”

Kim then described the conversation between the rules official and player: “Player: Hey, what’s the penalty if you give me a ride to the tee box?  Official: uhh it’s a two stroke penalty P: what’s the cut line at? O: it’s currently at even par P: F*** it, I’m at 3 under give me a ride to that tee box.”

But was taking a two-stroke hit worth it for the unnamed (and overheating) player? According to Kim, it was! He concluded: “He made par on the last three holes and made the cut by one.”

It must have been either a very hot day or a very big hill to risk missing the cut, and subsequent payday, for the relief of a quick cart ride, but if it sounds a little hard to believe, back-up came in the form of fellow pro Steve Wheatcroft.

The 45-year-old replied to Kim, writing: “I was in that group and it was years ago. Legendary story.”

But who was the mystery player? It wasn’t long until other replies began speculating but – at the time of writing – both Kim and Wheatcroft have kept quiet about his identity.