Mark Wilson was disqualified prior to the final round of the Barracuda Championship for using an improperly-sized greens book.
Wilson was tied for 51st through three rounds in Reno with a score of 16 points in the modified Stableford format. He took to Twitter to explain that he hadn’t noticed the fractional sizing issue until late in the week and decided to self-report the violation:
Sad to report but had to disqualify myself this morning for using a non conforming greens book during @CudaChamp (USGA rule 4.3). Why I didn’t think of it before the tournament started, I have no idea...
— Mark Wilson (@markwilsongolf) July 28, 2019
...the confusion for me was that my 2014 greens book fit in my yardage book so I didn’t think that it wouldn’t comply with the scaling limit of 3/8” to 5 yard. Mine was 1/2” to 5 yards. I used it a few times only but once is too many. Live and learn!
— Mark Wilson (@markwilsongolf) July 28, 2019
The scaling of greens books was one of the rules amended at the start of the new year, designed to limit the detail of materials players have at their disposal on the putting surfaces. It’s an issue that led to Alex Cejka’s disqualification at the Honda Classic in February when a playing partner noticed the size of his greens book was no longer conforming.
Wilson, 44, has won five times on the PGA Tour, most recently at the 2012 Desert Classic. He missed the cut in his two prior starts this season, and this was the first time he had made it to the weekend since the 2018 John Deere Classic.