Erik Compton was disqualified from the John Deere Classic after failing to show up for his tee time during Wednesday’s pro-am at TPC Deere Run.
Compton tweeted an explanation of the situation to his 31,000 followers, noting that he wasn’t expecting to have a pro-am spot:
I am DQ'd from the Pgatour John Deer. I missed the Proam..
— Erik Compton (@ErikCompton3) August 10, 2016
1st full event this year that I was in the Proam. 2 guys wd this morning.
My bad
According to a PGA Tour official, Compton was still in Detroit when he moved up the alternate list and was unable to make it to the course in time.
This is the same technicality that notably led to Jim Furyk being disqualified from The Barclays in 2010. The PGA Tour subsequently suspended the rule for the remainder of the 2010 season, and Furyk went on to win the FedEx Cup that year despite the disqualification.
Players are now able to participate in alternate sponsor activities for the occasional missed pro-am when scheduled in advance, but an unexcused absence still results in disqualification.
The early exit comes at an especially difficult time for Compton, who is 164th in the FedEx Cup race with only two regular-season events to go. Two years removed from a career season that included a runner-up at the U.S. Open, Compton has made only 10 cuts in 23 starts this season and has only one top-50 finish in his last eight starts (T-29, Quicken Loans National).
Compton was slated to begin the opening round at 9:50 a.m. ET Thursday alongside Scott Brown and Ted Purdy. Instead, he’ll be replaced in the field by Parker McLachlin.