KFT Player Robbed of PGA TOUR Card? Shad Tuten Situation Nearly a Year Later

In October 2023, Shad Tuten was well on his way to securing a PGA TOUR card and a six-figure bonus as a Korn Ferry Tour Player. After finishing his round at the KFT Championship in Newburgh, Indiana, Tuten was well inside the threshold to make the TOUR.

However, KFT rules officials assessed him a two-stroke penalty for failing to properly replace his ball on the 15th fairway, costing him his card, the money, and potentially causing some pretty serious health issues along the way.

Tuten later revealed that he felt like “something was stolen from him” on the Any Given Monday podcast after the rules violation was assessed. Rules officials had other opinions.

Shad Tuten was assessed a two-stroke penalty on hole No. 15 under preferred lies local rule E-3, turning a 2-over 74 into a 4-over 76. Tuten also fell from projected No. 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List to No. 32.

Chief referee Jim Duncan provided context on the ruling. pic.twitter.com/a5qXcqJLFC

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) October 8, 2023

Jim Duncan, Vice President of Rules, Competition, and Administration for the KFT, said:

“I think it’s pretty clear in the video that when he placed it one time, the ball rolled forward a little bit. Unfortunately, that rule requires you to try to replace it on the exact same spot again, and then if it won’t stay at rest that’s when you find the nearest place that you do, just like any other rule that requires placing. When he did not try to place that ball right back on the same spot, that’s when he was under penalty – two shots for playing from the wrong place.”

However, there are several people in the golf world who feel Tuten is due some reparations. Shane Bacon had Tuten on his Get a Grip podcast, where he was given an opportunity to explain his side of things. After hitting his shot on 15, he used the Lift Clean and Place rule that was in effect all week. When the round was finished, he admitted “something felt off.”

He was then approached by a rules official:

“…one of the rules officials pulls me into the office. So, I called it ‘the dungeon’ because it’s literally like beneath the entire clubface, you don’t even know this room is there. But I walk inside, and there’s another rules official in there. He’s watching the TV, but he walks out as soon as I walk in and it’s me and two other rules officials in there. He comes up to me and he’s like ‘Alright, we need to look at this video.’ I said ‘Okay,’ so we look at it, and he’s like ‘Do you see an issue here?’ And I said, ‘No, not even close.’ He said, ‘Where did you place the golf ball?’ And that was his first question. And at that moment, I was like, anything I say right now is going to be used against me. Anything I felt.”

Tuten continued:

“He explained the rule to me that where when you replace the golf ball, it has to be on the exact same spot. He kept saying, ‘That exact same spot where the golf ball rolled the first time.’ And in my eyes, where I was doing it, I thought that I did. I placed the ball, picked it up kind of like this, and then put it back. In my eyes, that’s what I thought I did. I thought I did the right thing. And obviously, with the video, you know, and you can zoom in so close now…yep, like it was. I mean, I’m talking just the slightest, the slightest amount off, and that was it. There was no argument…It took about twenty minutes because I was like, ‘I’m not signing the scorecard because I feel like I’m, you know, being interrogated, too. I felt like, you know, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ Because I’m a good guy. I’ve always played by the rules. I mean, I’ve called a penalty on myself three times…At that point, obviously, you have to go upstairs. They kind of forced me to sign my scorecard, and that was that.”

Other podcasts, like the Big Boy Pants podcast, also had a deep dive on the situation, going in-depth on rule 1.3b2, which you can watch below:

What Happened to Shad Afterward?

Tuten has not had an easy road afterward. In December, he announced he would not compete at KFT Qualifying in its final round due to severe heart issues:

(2) After the Tour Championship and the disaster of a week that was, I’ve been having severe heart issues and they haven’t gotten any better. My family’s health and my health will always be most important and professional golf will come soon enough. Thanks for the support!

— Shad Tuten (@shadprogolf) December 8, 2023

Tuten’s situation is one that is heartwrenching and many believe he deserves an explanation for the rules violation. Even if it was a mistake, would an admittance of that be enough to resolve the issue?

Cover Image via CNN