19th Hole
PGA Tour pro claims this Bay Hill DQ ‘may have been a cheating situation’
Last Friday, Kamaiu Johnson was disqualified from the Arnold Palmer for signing an incorrect scorecard.
The Twitter account “Monday Q Info” was the first to share details on the disqualification.
Kamaiu Johnson was Disqualified from the Arnold Palmer today for signing an incorrect scorecard.
The full story includes a walking scorer, a rules official, and some video footage.
The full story below pic.twitter.com/W04nFfOBnu
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) March 4, 2023
Johnson replied to the tweet, saying “I take the integrity of the game very seriously and I’m sorry this happened. I got a little overwhelmed in the moment with the group on the clock and lost count of my missed putts from 3 feet. I’ll do better.”
The replies to his tweet were not empathetic, with many people doubting that he could “lose count” so easily during a tournament.
Lots of guys get put on the clock. Can’t remember any of them “losing count” of their score, especially when it’s on the low side. You tried to cheat and got caught. Shouldn’t be playing on the PGA Tour.
— Overheard On Tour (@PGATourElevator) March 4, 2023
That’s not believable. You know what you made
— Parker Houston (@Houston_NoProb) March 4, 2023
The story was investigated further when Golfweek spoke to Johnson’s playing partner on Friday, Nick Hardy, who said it “may have been a cheating situation”.
“The amount of chances that he had to say he made a six is unfortunate because it looks like there may have been a cheating situation,” Hardy said. “I know that especially when I’m in a tournament atmosphere, that whenever I’m playing golf there is never a time where I forget what I shot.
“I’ll say this, they gave him many opportunities after the round, even after he signed his card, a couple more opportunities to maybe say he made a 7. I think they knew they had video evidence from the running camera on 9. ShotLink said he had a 7, the walking scorer said he had a 7 and he insisted he had a 6.
“They hinted to him that, hey, we just want to make sure you’ve got this right, and he still said he made a 6. That was the troubling issue I had.
“The Tour gave him multiple chances to come to grips with it. I know this for a fact because I was getting calls from the scoring officials for the next hour after we signed the card inside. I saw Montana [Thompson] and Casey Jones outside the locker room when they were talking to Kamaiu. It’s definitely concerning.”
Kyle Westmoreland also played with Johnson and Hardy, and wasn’t as critical of the situation, telling Golfweek:
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. He missed the cut. It doesn’t look great, I guess, for some people, but I don’t have much to comment on. It was a non-factor. I think the Tour handled it well.”
As Westmoreland said, Johnson missed the cut regardless. However, there is more context that needs to be added to the situation, as Hardy pointed out:
“That’s unfair because when he played that hole he was right on the cut line. If he had gotten away with a 6, he only needed to shoot 2 under. It mattered, it mattered big time,” Hardy said.
“I think you should be responsible. For people who think a player should get away with making a mistake like that because of a caddie’s fault or because the walking scorer should be in charge is wrong. The player should be 100 percent in charge of their score.
“The game is amazing because it taught me so many things about life. It’s like a true meritocracy in the sense that in life you need to be honest, you need to take responsibility, take ownership, have integrity for others; that’s the name of the game and to violate that is very concerning.”
When the scoring issue took place, Johnson was only two shots off the cut line and saying he missed the cut by six shots and therefore was inconsequential arguably does not properly contextualize the situation.
The integrity of the game should always be put first in these situations, and there’s no denying that this has not been a great look for Kamaiu Johnson.
More from the 19th Hole
19th Hole
How much each player won at the 2026 Masters
Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.
With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.
For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.
- 1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
- 2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
- T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
- T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
- T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
- T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
- T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
- T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
- T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
- T9: Max Homa, $630,00
- 11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
- T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
- T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
- T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
- T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
- T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
- T12: Jason Day, $427,500
- T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
- T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
- T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
- T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
- T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
- T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
- T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
- T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
- T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
- T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
- T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
- T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
- T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
- T30: Harris English, $146,250
- T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
- T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
- T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
- T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
- T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
- T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
- T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
- T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
- T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
- T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
- T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
- T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
- T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
- T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
- 46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
- 47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
- 48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
- T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
- T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
- 51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
- 52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
- 53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
- 54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300
19th Hole
CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans
While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.
There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.
Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:



This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V
— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026
It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.
19th Hole
The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances
Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.
Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.
Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:
“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”
The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:
“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”
That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:
“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”

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