Golf is easily one of the most frustrating sports of all time. Not only is it incredibly difficult to play, but the rules and guidelines are strict at the professional level. Apparently, during his run at the Memorial Tournament on Thursday, former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama was disqualified for a bizarre reason.
According to The Athletic, Matsuyama was removed from the Memorial Tournament “midway through his first round after using an illegal marking on the face of his 3-wood.” Sometimes, with the number of rules the PGA Tour has for their golfers, it's difficult to understand exactly what each rule is. Luckily for you, I Googled it.
Hideki Matsuyama's 3-wood had some sort of substance on it. “Rule 4a(3) within the equipment rules speaks to applying a substance to the face could unduly affect the performance of a ball; the flight, the spin, all the performance of the ball,” per Sky Sports. The PGA explains the ruling fully:
“Those markings were placed there by his club guy to help with alignment. Assistance with alignment by placing a small Sharpie mark on the face or small Sharpie line on the face is certainly allowed. But what was done there with that substance which is very much like a whiteout substance we would use at home, was a coating that was not only in the grooves but was very thick along the face, and now he's applied a substance to the face, which renders the club non-conforming.”
So, there you have it. Hideki Matsuyama's team had placed a substance on his 3-wood that was disallowed by the PGA. Had officials caught it earlier, then he would have avoided the disqualification. Regardless, Matsuyama is removed from the Memorial Tournament and will likely participate in the next one coming up.