NAIA apologizes for 'incorrectly placed' pin after video of college golfers struggling goes viral
An 'unfortunate situation' involving an "incorrectly placed" pin position marred a college golf tournament on Tuesday. And had Golf Twitter abuzz.
A video of a golfer struggling to keep her golf ball from rolling away from the hole prompted enough outrage to draw an apology from the NAIA.
Have a look at the video in which you can hear the golfer say, "Please," before putting her hands on her hips and watching the ball roll back:
That's rough. According to Ryan French, AKA Monday Q Info, the hole produced "multiple 10s, 9s and 8s."
The unfair pin position occurred during the first round of the NAIA Women's Golf National Championship on the par-5 fifth hole at Eagle Crest Golf Club in Ypsilanti, Mich. According to Brentely Romine of Golfweek, of the 155 golfers to play the hole, there were 90 double bogeys, 47 bogeys, 15 pars and three birdies.
“We regret to confirm that an unfortunate situation occurred at the NAIA Women’s Golf National Championship," the NAIA said in a statement. "The hole on No. 5 was incorrectly placed in a challenging position. We take this matter seriously and have taken immediate steps to ensure this type of situation will not happen again. The NAIA is committed to the student-athlete experience.”
In 2023, the NCAA decided to wipe out third-round scores of the D3 Women's Golf Championship due to a similar situation.