Pro’s rule violation confession results in double disqualification

A Korn Ferry Tour pro and his playing partner were disqualified from this week’s Memorial Health Championship in Springfield, Ill. for violating Rule 10.2a, which prohibits players from sharing or giving advice. That includes touching another player’s equipment to learn information that would be advice if given by or asked of the other player; giving advice to anyone in the competition who is playing on the course; and asking anyone for advice other than your caddie.

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine got the full story. According to Romine, 25-year-old pro Cole Hammer was playing alongside 34-year-old Nelson Ledesma on Thursday when, on the par-3 17th hole at Panther Creek Country Club, Hammer hit a 4-iron. As he walked back to his bag, Hammer told Romine that Ledesma’s caddie, Nico Torres, held up four fingers at Hammer.

“Out of instinct, I flashed ‘4’ as well,” Hammer told Golf Channel on Friday. “It was a heat-of-the-moment thing, and I didn’t think a whole lot about it until after the round.”

But Hammer was unsettled by the interaction and reached out to fellow pros for their input after the round that evening. While many told him that the interaction was a common occurrence on Tour and not to worry about it, Hammer was unconvinced.

“I feel like I know the rules really well, and I’ve always tried to uphold them to the best of my ability,” Hammer told Golf Channel. “It just didn’t sit right with me last night, and when I woke up this morning, I felt compelled to go talk to the rules official and tell him what had happened.”

After explaining the incident to Korn Ferry rules official Claudio Rivas, Hammer was told a decision would be forthcoming.

“I didn’t think that they would be disqualified,” Hammer said of Ledesma. “I just thought since I was the one who gave the sign that I would be disqualified. And I thought that was worst-case scenario.”

Rules

Mid-way through the second round, the decision was relayed. Both Hammer and Ledesma were disqualified, because they had already signed their scorecards from Round 1. Had that not been the case, the penalty would be two strokes.

The incident marked the first DQ ever for Hammer, who had a stellar amateur career before turning pro in 2022.

“I feel a lot better now that I at least got it off my chest because it was weighing me down,” Hammer said. “It’s just unfortunate that it’s a caused a little storm around the tournament.

“It’s a learning experience, and I think I’m in a better head space having called it on myself,” he continued. “I’m by no means depressed about the outcome or nervous about the next stretch. If anything, I can play with a clean slate and a clear conscious and hopefully continue the play that I had in Wichita.

“There are plenty of events left, and I felt like doing the right thing and protecting the game would be better for me in the long run.”

According to a translated response to Golf Channel, Ledesma’s caddie was “shocked” by the DQ.

“The decision made is the correct one, according to the rules,” Ledesma said. “I can’t do much with it except accept it.”

This isn’t the first time that advice-sharing has been scrutinized on Tour. At the 2023 Masters, Brooks Koepka and his caddie appeared to share the fact that Koepka hit a 5-iron to playing partner Gary Woodland and his caddie. After Augusta National investigated, however, no penalty was applied.