Pro has ‘Brain Melting’, DQs even from the tournament

He called it a “muppet move”.

And a “rookie mistake”.

And a “real brain melt”.

Scott Hend was being honest at the moment. And he was also honest in describing everything.

Starting out, the longtime pro played at the Asian Tour’s DGC Open, shooting one-over-73 in the first round and being disqualified in the second. And typically DQs are listed for no reason; just a D and a Q on the leaderboard. But Hend came in.

Across three tweets On Friday he said he took a wrong drop at Delhi Golf Club. Then, over several more tweets, he responded to some jabs.

The confession as written by Hend:

“For those wondering why I got DQ’s in India today… Well I hit a ball out of a bunker on the 18th, the ball was lost, I then went back and got a ball within a club length of the original place dropped. Walking down the fairway after playing the shot, I wondered if I’d fallen into one

“Wrong position…..yes I did, I should have dropped back into the bunker. I called myself to it. YES, I’d miss the cut anyway… But I’d rather play by the rules, even if I missed the cut or not. Even old tour pros make mistakes sometimes. #GolfLife

“A drop within 1 club length doesn’t mean I could drop on the grass outside the bunker… I had to fall back into the bunker. Muppet moves in my name. rookie mistakes for sure. Energy level at -5 at this stage. Further and up. #JustSayn #GolfLife #ItsOnMe”

Difficult. In order to check the Laws of the Game, Hend must have played where he originally scored, as stated in Rule 18.2b. And the DQ? Rule 14.7b – entitled “How to Complete a Hole After Playing from the Wrong Place in Stroke Play” – is written as follows:

“What a player does next depends on whether it was a serious infraction – that is, whether the player could have gained a significant advantage by playing from a wrong spot: Not a serious infraction. The player must complete the hole with the ball played from a wrong spot without correcting the mistake. Serious Violation. The player must correct the mistake by completing the hole with a ball played from the correct spot according to the Rules.

“If the player does not correct the error before making a stroke to start another hole or for the last hole of the round before returning his scorecard, the player will be disqualified.”

And Hend was done, even though, as he wrote, he would have missed the cut anyway. Then he signed up.

Some of the Twitter back and forths – which lasted seven hours – as written by Hend and some commenters:

Joy Chakravarty: “Proud of you Hendy! To invoke it on yourself, and also to act out all your physical ailments. You remain a true professional.”

hand: “I had a real brain meltdown taking that drop where I did it….. The only thing I could do as I was walking down the fairway thinking about it… DGC got me again.”

Chris case: “I can’t believe people are praising this? I liked Muppet Move…You wanted to miss the cut and you wanted the fuck out of there!”

hand: “Well Chris…. I had finished the hole… YET… Unlike many I like to leave the course with a clear conscience, I thought I broke a rule…. So that’s the case whether the cut is missing or not. I called the referee and DQed myself. I feel good:”

Chris case: “You skate the theme. Having known you for 25 years and following you on twitter I think you are wiser to repeat that shot outside the bunker. You knew it was going to clog and you weren’t going to chop it up the fairway with the club in your hand, you were done.”

hand: “Chris I actually measured 1 club length from where the ball was in the bunker and then took a drop was within that club length which was just outside the bunker. This was stupidly done on my behalf. I was exhausted from my illness out there. I made a mistake.”

Chris case: “I don’t know…I really can’t think of a pro who does that, but I really hope you feel better physically and glad you’re comfortable with it.” I just can’t believe anyone would praise such an event, that’s all. Have a great season, I will follow.”

Martin Hoey: “What is your angle here? He made himself DQ. What else could he have done? Your guess above as to what might have happened was just that, a guess. Even if it had been a tucked ball it would have added an extra shot so I’m not sure how you think he would have “chopped” it up.

Chris case: “No angle. Like I said, I’m just surprised people are praising it. It’s common sense for a seasoned pro that you can’t get out of a bunker, forget about a bad interpretation of the rule. He made a silly move. Let’s call a [spade emoji] a spade of praise for DQing himself when he knew he was cut? N / A”

hand: “Chris, I’m really not sure what you’re upset about here… Did I DQ myself and not let it grind and let someone else pull me up? Is it actually the case that people are informed? Do people really like it when someone is honest when they don’t have to be? I’m not sure”

Chris Case: “I promise I’m not mad at Scott. I actually amuse myself with all the people praising your heroic act of DQing yourself after thinking (or knowingly) taking such a stupid drop “take that drop”

hand: “Good to know that you have NEVER made a mistake while you’re feeling down… Even if you don’t correct a mistake after you’ve made it… Well, there is NO hope for that person.”

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Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf community. And when he’s not writing about how to hit the golf ball further and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can contact him on any of these topics – his stories, his game or his beers – at [email protected]