Pro Plays Round With One Ball To Avoid Disqualification

A Korn Ferry Tour player survived a nervy start to his second round after a pre-round mistake meant he had to risk disqualification and compete with just one ball.

Ryan McCormick, who led the NV5 Invitational after a first-round 60, began his second round on the tenth hole but quickly realised a problem. 

Having practised putting overnight with a 2019 Titleist Pro V1, the American accidentally began his round with the same ball despite the fact that the rest of the balls in his bag were this year’s edition of the Pro V1. 

Due to the one-ball rule in place, McCormick couldn’t use those other balls in his bag and would have faced disqualification had he lost the 2019 ball. That situation nearly came to fruition on the 12th when he fired his tee shot into the fescue.

“It was insane,” McCormick said. “I was honestly thinking I was DQ’d. Like, if I don’t find the ball, I’m going home.”

The Model Local Rule G-4 is in place across PGA Tour-sanctioned events with the rule stating: “During a round, each ball at which the player makes a stroke must be the same brand and model as found in a single entry on the current List of Conforming Balls.”

Thankfully, having found the ball and spoken to a rules official on that hole, the tournament organisers were able to acquire a few more balls for McCormick while he was still playing thanks to fellow pro, Trace Crowe, who still uses the older Titleist ball. 

Regardless, it still made for a nervy start to the day for the American who had considered all options to avoid a costly disqualification. “It was on my mind for a solid hour to start the day,” he recalled. 

“My caddie was fishing for balls out on 13 before we knew we had more. He was taking the rake, fishing for balls out of the water, hoping that we got the same ball. That is where we were at during the round.

“I was going to have him go back to the hotel, see if he could find one. Basically, fire my caddie, hire somebody else and have him come back. We went through the whole thing.”

The chaos of the opening few holes failed to disrupt his rhythm, however, as McCormick didn’t lose a ball all day and went on to shoot a two-under-par round of 69 to maintain a share of the lead when play was suspended.