Challenge Tour Golfer Disqualified For Running Out Of Balls

We’ve all had those moments where we realize that we’ve forgotten something incredibly important. For golfer Clement Berardo, that feeling capped off an awful day on the golf course.

For those that are not up on the happenings of the Challenge Tour, they are currently playing the Andalucía-Costa del Sol Match Play 9 event in Spain where many players are trying to make a name for themselves. Berardo was one of those players and he did end up making the news and drawing attention but in this case it was for being disqualified.

Berardo had a long day that he most likely just wanted to end when he was heading up the 16th hole of the Valle Romano golf course. He got his wish when he was able to head straight for the clubhouse after running out of balls.

We’ve all been in that situation before playing with buddies on a weekend but while we’re able to borrow a few balls from one of our partners, the professional tours deem that this is an immediate disqualification.

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And to be honest, it was probably for the better that Berardo didn’t get the opportunity to finish his round. The day started off terribly for him, as he hit a quadruple-bogey on the first hole of the day, leading to a +6 front nine. The back nine wasn’t much better for Berardo, as he had a double-bogey on the 10th then bogeyed 14 and 15 before the DQ on the 16th.

While this happened on a smaller stage, it’s not impossible to see it happen on the PGA TOUR. This situation actually almost happened to Tiger Woods at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

While Tiger went on to win the tournament, he almost ran out of balls after taking some to his hotel room after play was suspended in the second round and never replaced them.

Even though it was a bad round for Berardo, it has to sting to end a round on a mental mistake like that. So if you learn anything from this story, never forget to pack some extra balls no matter what level you’re playing at.

Cover Photo via Instagram