LIV Golf Tweaks Procedure for Signing Scorecards After Rounds
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There is seemingly nothing worse in golf, especially at the professional level, than a scorecard issue that leads to getting a higher score or disqualification. Although signing a correct card is viewed as sacrosanct in the game, there is also the common-sense element that suggests that when walking scorers are present, as well as computer generated scoring systems, a player should not penalized because he or she misses a wrong number that was put in a box.
While LIV Golf is not going to solve that issue, it has taken a step to make the process a bit easier.
Starting at its event outside of Chicago, LIV Golf went to a system where players verified and attest scores at the hole where they finished the round. Having a shotgun start makes for awkward finishes because all players were coming to the same scoring area at the same time.
LIV Golf players such as Dustin Johnson now sign and attest scorecards on the holes they finish in the shotgun-start format.
Jamie Sabau/USA TODAY Sports
LIV employees walking scorers that work all of its events and then there is the traditional scorecard exchange between players in the group.
"Nothing is official until that scorecard is signed despite all that technology that we have," said Bert Larson, a vice president with LIV Golf who is in charge of the scoring system. “And that still exists. That continues. However, now we’re doing it at the green."
That is where players verify each others' scores—with the help of the walking scorer—and then sign their cards before leaving the area. The scores are then recorded officially in the LIV scoring system.
Another change from other traditional scoring methods: the players are not in violation of any possible scorecard issues that are not discovered until they leave the course. Typically, once a player leaves the scoring area, his score is final.
LIV Golf is not doing this to set any scorecard trends, although if that is a future benefit, that is accepted. Given that players finish at all areas of the course, this system speeds up the process and allows for a cleaner and speedier finish.
"This is a big step," Larson said. "It might not be in the immediate future, but at some point, within the rules, as long as we’re doing it the appropriate way, scoring could become electronic. That is probably down the road.
"Still, the number in the (scorecard) box is key. We don’t expect them to total the score. We don’t ask the golfer to do math. We expect that all 18 scorers have a score and that is correct. And that is what they are signing. Is there a day where they will be looking at an electronic device and signing it that way? Maybe that’s a next step. But for what we’re doing, this is a big step for us."
LIV Golf officials said that the average time for scoring verification went from 20 minutes to three minutes with no issues or mistakes following the first day of the LIV Golf Chicago event. That meant groupings for the next round could be sorted much sooner.